New Portland Designer: Modi Soondarotok for IDOM

Training in some of America’s better fashion houses, a degree from Parsons, time in fashion programs in London and Paris are just a few of the things Modi Soondarotok brings to her new label IDOM that you’ll find in her boutique of the same name at 1600 NE Alberta. Soondarotok, who moved to Portland from New York in 2006 to launch her line, has worked for Peter Som, Donna Karan, Twinkle, and Armani.

Anyone who calls out both Mark Rothko and Frank Gehry (as well as Marc Chagall and Juan Miro) as inspirations for a clothing line, automatically piques our interest.

Soondarotok talks about her process beginning with the fabric, how she lets it dictate, “what it wants to become.” And as you can see from these photos of a handful of the 26 pieces that make up the IDOM Summer collection, her fabrics range from the stunning Scandinavian-esque graphic print to a black Asian-influenced yarn-dyed fabric. If anything tells the story of this varied debut collection it may be the designer’s travels to Egypt, Israel, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Soondarotok, who was born and raised until age 12 in Bangkok, has found an interesting manufacturing model that is akin to both Project Alabama and Bono’s Edun line. Soondarotok travels to Thailand to select materials like hand-loomed silks and cottons and meet with the ten Thai seamstresses she employs to sew for IDOM. The seamstresses work from home, staying out of sweatshops and with their families while earning a fair wage. As Soondarotok puts it, “Committed to a manufacturing philosophy that provides a positive alternative to sweatshop labor, IDOM champions the craftsmanship of independent artisans by paying fair wages and supporting flexible schedules.”

The IDOM boutique, located at 1600 Northeast Alberta Street, will host a grand opening party on Wednesday August 29th.