After a Fashion

GETTING INTO THERAPY "Does it have to be today?" she said in a voice pleading for mercy. "I'm a wreck; Channel 8 is coming to film a photo exhibition that we've just hung, and I haven't slept in 24 hours." "Yes," I said pitilessly, "Today. I need a new column, and you're it." And with those words, I entered Therapy, an hour late, but with a stunning new haircut from Jimmy Haddox at Wet Salon two doors down.

Therapy, of course, is a guided tour of self-discovery, a path of enlightenment exploring one's history, hopes, and fantasies. But, Therapy, a jewel of a shop at 1113 South Congress (on the chic SoCo strip, as I'm fond of saying), provides the same experience. Therapy is Jyl Kutsche, a breathlessly dynamic powerhouse, who performs the multiple roles of owner, designer, curator, and director. Seemingly in a perpetual state of controlled panic, Kutsche's willowy, fragile appearance belies the strength and cold reserve that she possesses -- qualities necessary to perform the juggling acts that are part of her daily routine. More than her demeanor, it is the shop itself that reveals so much about its creator -- a wide-open space sizzling with incendiary color, exotic textures, and an ever-changing mix of clothing, accessories, and art (the current exhibition being the striking and surreal photos by Tracy Goudie).

In her current location for less than a year, Therapy has been in business for three-and-a-half years. But Kutsche is no neophyte to the business world. She earned her degree in business from UT -- something most designers would benefit from -- but knew, before that, that her heart was in fashion. Not to mention in her blood. With the inspiration of her grandmother, a master tailor and embroiderer from Germany, Kutsche enrolled in design classes at UT, creatively altering her work history in order to bypass many of the basic classes. Ill-prepared for some of the challenges presented, it was sink or swim, and she swam. Furthering her studies with a summer program in Paris from the illustrious Parsons School of Design, she was a woman who could no longer look back. She wound up moving to L.A., and beginning a road that would lead her through New York, Chicago, and Dallas, and developing the idea of having a store of her own. When she heard that Urban Outfitters was opening an Austin store, Kutsche besieged them to hire her to run it. They agreed, and she was home again. She stayed with them awhile, acquiring company stock along the way. She quit, they went public, and she made a nice chunk of change off the deal. Hence, Therapy.

Kutsche's designs for Therapy are witty and charming, utilizing iridescent, silk dupionis as one of her signatures. The shimmering jewel-tone colors give her styles, which are, in the lexicon of fashion editors, "spare" and "modern." She achieves an architectural feel with straight lines and simple shaping that offers a minimum of constraint. She is an avid connoisseur of sari fabric, another of her signatures, employing it in clothing as well as decorating the shop. Draped in front of the lovely dressing rooms, the opulent fabrics are complemented by the spectacular murals and floors painted by artist Cindy Crow.

In addition to her own designs, she has two in-store boutiques, one of which is for Service menswear, which carries a slightly more sophisticated mix than Service's Dobie Mall location. Service presents a serious retro look with stylish Fifties and Sixties detailing. Kutsche's rock & roll history is evident in her novelty T-shirt section, featuring neo-punk and glam-rock designs by Jett, Smashing Grampa, and the cleverly named Beau & Eros, out of L.A. She also carries Earl jeans -- and if you're in the know, you know that if you're not wearing Earl jeans, you just don't count. She also carries several local designers as well.

Kutsche's unerring eye for style makes her shop a therapeutic delight. So now you know all about her. But to show how smart she really is we have to talk about the other in-store boutique -- this one dedicated to the handbags designed by Laura Maclay. We are going to talk at length about Miss Maclay in a future column, but for now, run to Therapy and buy her handbags while you can still afford them. Maclay is going to be a star whether she likes it or not, and I can promise you that within no more than a couple of years, you will see her bags in every major fashion magazine. You heard it here first.

Write to our Style Avatar with your related events, news, and hautey bits: style@auschron.com or PO Box 49066, Austin, 78765 or 458-6910 (fax).