New York Fashion Week:
Day #8
09.16.09-

Marchesa
Chelsea Art Museum

Every season during Fashion Week Scott & myself have that moment of Zen where we realize that true talent does exist & that all will be ok in the world of fashion.  Last season we gave our Ahhhhhhhhhh moment to Juan Carlos Obando who left us feeling breathless – this year our moment of Ahhhhhhhhh goes to Georgina Chapman of Marchesa.  Georgina – thank you for restoring our faith in the ability to design & execute impeccable & memorizing looks that are nothing less than perfection. 

In a season of the mundane, Marchesa embraced the drama & romance that every girl desires.  One cannot begin to appreciate or understand the sheer genius behind the collection’s designs through photos.  The garments are works of concentrated art with thick heavy beading, draped layers of tulle & finely crafted threadwork.  Vignettes created stories of Chapman’s vision.    Oversized bows adorned the backs of dresses & the front of one perfectly constructed blazer. Corseted bodices were wrapped creating statuesque silhouettes, skirts of pleated petals elongated a formfitting dress & a hand painted silk tulle gown are only a hint of the exquisite execution.  One stand alone look can only be described as one of the most stunning pieces in the collection, a black & white floral laser cut satin strapless gown created such volume & artistry that the flash of the photogs were going berserk. 

Shorter dresses were paired with hand painted silk stockings creating a tattoo effect (note: an elegant tattoo effect) & models were kept clean & spare with little to no makeup except long blonde eyelash extensions that captured the whimsical feeling.  The woman in Marchesa needs nothing more, because just putting on a dress like this can make anyone feel like a goddess, princess & Hollywood starlet all rolled into one.

-Meredith Garcia

 

Koi Suwannagate
Gana Art Gallery

The Koi Suwannagate Hand-Sculpted Spring Summer ’10 show was just that, a showing of 21 exquisite sculptural looks that appeared right at home in the middle of an art gallery.  The elegant blank white space, with its 3 dimensional cutout sculptures placed on the floor around the perimeter, provided a nice backdrop for the intriguing looks.  It also allowed the models space to circulate giving attendees an opportunity to see the looks up close and personal from all different angles. 

The stark color palette of ivory, black, and nude, was livened up by different shades of green and one standout (if only in its coloring) magenta gown.  The pieces were all interesting and beautiful in their own way, with few closely resembling any of the others, but there were a few especially intricate pieces which stood out above the rest.  In the second grouping, a lovely white cocktail dress in silk chiffon featured hand-crocheted lotus flowers across the bodice, and next to it stood an equally interesting white silk top covered in handmade organza lotus flowers.  The standout piece (quite literally) appeared last though, with an asymmetric sculptural white gown that seemed almost as if the model was unnecessary, and it would have been quite capable of standing on its own.

-Anna Sandberg

Oscar de la Renta
Park Ave

In the famous poem from French poet Charles Baudelaire, “Invitation to Travel”, there is a line that goes “The everything is luxury, calm and voluptuousness” and this is exactly what came to my mind at the Oscar de la Renta Spring 2010 show.  It was my first time attending and it was everything I expected it to be: an ode to another life where everything is about elegance and sophistication and where the living is easy.   It was a parade of beautiful dresses and separates made from silk faille, gazar and silk organza.  From the chic ensemble of teal silk faille safari jacket worn with a teal silk faille trousers that opened the show to the gorgeous white threadwork dress with hyacinth and black floral printer embroidery worn with a peridot elaphe belt there is something for all hours of the day.  This surely was one of the highlights of my week.

-Miriam Driot

Maria Pinto
Banchet Flowers

Set amongst the florals of the delightfully smelling flower shop Banchet, Maria Pinto presented her latest collection.  The first thing that you notice upon entrance of the small space (besides the smell) was the pop of brilliant colors reflecting the light.  The contrasting palettes of bold fuchsia, salvia, canna & mimosa with the subdue mud, sand, steel & peony was the perfect assortment for the season.  The raw sensuality took its inspirations from the tension of the Argentine Tango full of spiral chiffons, whisper soft leathers, stretch wools & jerseys.  Pinto attained her goal for creating drama with this beautifully balanced collection. 

-Meredith Garcia

 

Michael Kors
The Tent

Some of the inspirations mentioned in the program were sleek architectural shapes, utilitarian luxury, asymmetry and sharp angles.  Michael Kors always presents a great show that feels like a celebration of life featuring good music and gorgeous models walking the catwalk.  It’s like a sleek music video, you watch it and you want to be in it!  For daywear there is a wide selection of dresses and separates such as a sexy white glove leather zipper shift, a chic black stretch crepe slashed tank dress or a seafoam cashmere slashed v neck worn with watercolor shantung trousers.  For evening there are a couple of sparkly pailette trompe l’oeil shifts in either black or silver.  And if you prefer something more subdued you can always go for the black stretch crepe asymmetric Perspex dress.  No matter what your pick- you cannot go wrong with this collection.

-Miriam Driot

 

Milly
The Promenade

Showing to a packed house, it’s probably safe to say the Milly Spring/Summer 2010: Punk Meets Prep came as a surprise to most in the audience.  For one thing, there was very little color and very few prints as “Black plays the starring role in the spring collection for the first time in many seasons, accented by putty and ecru.”  There were also touches of mustard yellow, pink, and plenty of gold- in the metallic jacquard fabrics, the oversized buttons, the decorative studs, and the mounds of necklaces and bracelets adorning the models (rolling out a brand new jewelry collection in conjunction with the ready-to-wear line there was certainly no shortage of hardware). 

With the models all sporting cheeky side pony tails with black bows and black ankle socks under sandals, designer Michelle Smith certainly succeeded in created a mood.  The majority of the looks were very cute and very wearable; featuring cropped jackets over little skirts and shorts, so there is bound to be something for all her fans.  To that end- the show wrapped up with a long series of all black looks, mini-dresses for the most part, along with a sleek strapless jumpsuit.  So not to worry Milly girls- come spring there will be plenty of Little Black Dresses (and gold costume jewelry) to go around.

-Anna Sandberg

 

Jolibe
Ceco Studio

Jolibe presented a seemingly random assortment of dresses on forms in a cavernous dark black walled soundstage (???) in the Meatpacking District.  Some were hits & a few were misses & all seemed as if they came from the sketchpads of different designers.  Highlights were the White sleeveless shift with Black embroidered accents along the seams, the Black sheer camisole & skirt in silk chiffon with Black & Silver opaque stripes, & the haunting sounds of Nico & The Velvet Underground crooning "Femme Fatale".

-Scott French

 

 

 

Fahrd Foste
Sara D. Roosevelt Park

Staging his Spring/Summer 2010 show in the middle of a park on the lower east side, Fahrd Foste's collection was bound to be a break from the ordinary... And it definitely lived up to that expectation. Titled "Watercolony" he took inspiration from "a colony deep in submersion, beyond the darkest points man has ever seen", resulting in a collection of 16 looks (men’s and women’s) that resembled futuristic interpretations of a scuba suit.  The designer used neoprene, vinyl, nylon, and plastic to craft his pieces in bright shades of blue, turquoise, red, magenta, violet, lilac, and gray.  With the models all sporting platinum blond hair in some variation, and silvery gray make-up dusted randomly across their faces, they walked a circle around the basketball course/runway while holding speakers playing some vaguely oceanic music.  Had there been a more clear attempt at some sort of statement or hint of the designers intent, it may have been easier to “get on board” with this unusual show, but as it was the collection came off as more bizarre than anything else.

-Anna Sandberg