Cassie Goodman graduated with a fine arts degree from Pratt before starting her vintage-flavored clothing brand Auto Body. However the switch from canvas to clothes wasn’t as random as it sounds. As the daughter of Tripp NYC founder Daang Goodman and Trash and Vaudeville owner Ray Goodman, she has spent most of her 24 years using fashion as a means of expression. “As trite as this might sound, clothing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” Cassie says. “I grew up in trade shows, fabric markets, and rag houses, designing and sewing to pass the time. I was exposed to clothing as a way of personal expression and creativity. Tripp and Trash conveyed that to me at a young age.”
The incentive to create her very first piece will be relatable to many young clothes-obsessed New Yorkers with eyes bigger than their closets: either not having anything to wear or wanting to wear everything at the same time. “I have a generous amount of vintage pants that I’ve collected through the years, but it was always hard for me to find something that satisfied both my aesthetic and physical needs,” Cassie says. “I’m often torn between my attraction to the boyish qualities of utilitarian trousers from the 60s and the feminine hip-hugging jeans of the 70s. The Lillian was my answer to satisfying both.” Auto Body’s debut garment garment is somehow unisex, sexy, utilitarian, vintage-inspired, and very modern.
As the name suggests, Auto Body is also inspired by business ventures you’re more likely to find upstate than on St Mark’s: car restoration shops. “Clothing for all makes and models,” reads the brand’s mission statement. Anyone in doubt as to how one pair of pants can effortlessly traverse decades and different body types should look to Cassie’s first lookbook, shot by Eric Chakeen. Musician/filmmaker Tracy Antonopolous, singer Jillian Hervey of Lion Babe, and artist Jonathan Small are all pictured wearing the pinstripe Lillian pant plus their own favorite wardrobe staples. Next the designer wants to offer shirts and jackets, a “thoughtful continuation of functional, seductive, and honest pieces to fuse into your daily uniform.”
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Photography Eric Chakeen