Posts filed under 'Runway Reviews'
Key Takeaways:The Harvard alum stuck to his signature "preppy with a twist" style, showing sweatervests, fair isle sweaters, and turtlenecks fit for a slightly subversive prep school student. Though his silhouettes remained pretty standard, John Bartlett spiced up his menswear collection with rich textures, ranging from velvet to cable knit. Key trends included colorblocking (seen on both sweaters and jackets), sweatervests (a continuing trend), and wide cuffed pants.
Color Palette: Shades of beige, white, black, and greys overshadowed touches of olive green and a splash of red. Colorblocking featured as a central theme in Bartlett’s collection.
Silhouettes: Both shirts and sweaters were cut slim, though Bartlett’s jackets and coats were more relaxed in fit. Pants ranged from skinny-legged to wide-legged, with the most notable pant detail being the wide turned-up cuffs. Sweatervests and turtleneck sweaters featured prominently. Coats and jackets included 3/4 length styles, aviator styles, (velvet) blazers, and mandarin collared styles.
Accessories Report: Three accessories trends to note: (1) brightly colored socks paired with neutral colored shoes, (2) the skinny tie (a continuing trend), and (3) scarves with a "cuff" detailing.
What’s Wearable: Textured sweaters, velvet blazers, and wide legged pants will keep you warm for Fall. Our favorite look? A sweatervest paired with a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
What’s Not Wearable: What not to wear? The plaid suit and the jailbird stripes.
February 2nd, 2007
Key Takeaways: With themes ranging from 20s glamour and the mod 60s, the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection felt like a microcosm of Fashion Week. Just as the Spring 2007 season is all about pieces–not outfits, the Marc by Marc collection is all about specific looks, not a focused message.
Color Palette: All over the map. Neutrals–olives, whites, and greys–were accompanied by celadon green, grass green, orange, turquoise, yellow, and purple.
Silhouettes: Key silhouettes included mod 60s shifts, drop waist styles, trapeze style coats, cuffed shorts, voluminous sleeves, and oversized tops over dresses. For men, loose pants, shorts, cuffed styles, deep v-neckline styles, three piece suits, and trenchcoats.
Accessories Report: Oversized top-handle bags, caps, long, thin scarves, white-rimmed glasses, long necklaces, and sneakers for women. For men, caps, suspenders, nerd glasses, and sneakers.
What’s Wearable: An indigo-navy drop waist shift with a curved waistline ruffle (pictured). For men, we love the three piece suit with sneakers.
What’s Not Wearable: For women, a patchwork hippie print dress that confuses the eye with its multitude of patterns. For men, a white deep-v shirt that would feel right at home in the women’s collection.
September 21st, 2006
Key Takeaways: Structured, chic, slick, monochrome or bright? We’re having a hard time putting one word to Jay McCarroll’s (of Project Runway Season 1 fame) debut solo show after winning back in 2005. (By the way, check out the adorable different colored headphones from his ‘05 collection.) Having met Mr. McCarroll backstage for an interview, we can see why it’d be hard for him to stick with the neutrals and strict shapes that many of the other designers preferred for this season. We loved that his show spanned the spectrum of literal black to white to yellow to blue to green to a mix, but the varied shapes made it occasionally hard to draw a cohesive sense from the line. Nevertheless, the rooster and helium blimp-prints in varying sizes along with the patchwork feel set this collection aside from others.
On a side-note, no fur was used in this line. Jay paired up with the Humane Society of the United States to reinforce the fact that fur does not need to be obtained from cruel sources. We applaud you, Jay McCarroll! You can see us wearing the red and white heart-shaped "no FUR" button during his interview. As a gift for our loyal Omiru readers, we’re giving
away five of these exclusively-designed buttons for the first five commenters on this post — just leave your name and email!
Color Palette: We saw solids in plain black and white along with blends of canary yellow, yellow-green, blues and turquoise and browns separately and sometimes all at once (see image above).
Silhouettes: Mirroring his balloon prints, lean and volume-infused silouettes dominated Jay McCarroll’s collection. A bright turquoise tank dress with side detail and an A-line see-through raincoat paraded after a gothic stiff crinoline "Little-Bo-Peep-Meets-Black-Sheep" dress complete with hooded shrug and sheer lace footless tights. Loose, long coats for men came in silver and charcoal black for a true rockstar feel. We took note of cuffed short-shorts, long flowy patchwork dresses, and minis and skinny pants in a variety of colors.
Accessories Report: Watch out! Sunglasses in white, black and smoke and blue (pictured) are here for Spring 2007. We loved the adorable etched flat plastic globes made into necklaces and other accessories and the singularly outrageous bird in a cage looped casually around a model’s neck. Male flipflops and flats and wide-strapped heels for women adorned feet in whites and blacks. Bowling and duffle bags in various colors were also paraded down the runways.
What’s Wearable: The short-sleeve patchwork dress in the mock-turtleneck with the complementary squares of color is just too gosh darn cute to pass up. Also, the striped off the shoulder sweater works well for Winter ‘06 along with the calf-length tights in heather grey with three buttons on the side of each leg.
What’s Not Wearable: Highly structured and puffed shoulders along with a bee-like black and yellow striped sweater are more theatrical then off-the-runway wearable.
Hear what Jay McCarroll has to say about the Humane Society in our exclusive backstage interview.
September 21st, 2006
Key Takeaways: Layering, narrow silhouettes, and fabrics with sheen were the three hallmarks of the Calvin Klein Men Spring 2007 collection.
Color Palette: Greys and tan were jolted with shades of blue and orange.
Silhouettes: Models strutted down the runway in layered tops–v-neck sweaters over crewnecks over button-down shirts, two-button fitted suits, 3/4 length coats, double breasted styles, blousy tops, shorts, and leggings.
Accessories Report: Models carried tote bags down the runway.
What’s Wearable: Love the uber-thin lapels, the fitted two-button suits with a low stance, and the skinny trousers.
What’s Not Wearable: Leggings–especially in electric blue.
September 21st, 2006
Key Takeaways: Narciso Rodriguez’s tricky architectural constructions appear somewhat forced–definitely not as natural and fluid as they have appeared in previous years. The collection feels studied, and even a bit stiff as Rodriguez alternates between fitted and slightly looser shapes. Surface details–pattern and metallic sheen–are key for visual interest.
Color Palette: White, black, and grey are joined by rose, blue, purple and orange.
Silhouettes: Key silhouettes for women included high waistlines, empire styles, capelets, babydoll dresses, miniskirts, and trenches. Detailing included flutter sleeves, cutouts, and thick straps. For men, we noted loosely fitted single-button blazers, skinny pants, sleeveless jackets, and shorts.
Accessories Report: Belts played a central role in the collection, with Rodriguez showing what appears to be a corset of belts. We also took note of a thick belt with thin ties at the front.
What’s Wearable: The collection is generally wearable, given the right occasion. The styles feel intellectual–perfect for gallery openings and evenings at the symphony. For women, we’re crushing on a draped dark turquoise dress with think chain strap and white contrast cutout at front. For men, we’re fans of the loosely fitted single-button blazers.
What’s Not Wearable: Some outfits have too much going on with the combination of fabric/color blocking, pattern, and shape. However, we could see many of his individual pieces as perfectly wearable. Rodriguez’s expertise is creating clean lines and unfussy shapes–this collection didn’t play to his strengths.
September 21st, 2006
Photo Credit: Coutorture
Key Takeaways: Tunes like "California Love" and "Bad to the Bone," shook the tent, while male and female models rocked the catwalk with lots of sequins, glitter, leather, rose-embossed shirts (a Manuel signature), ruffles, linen, and crisp suits. This was one of the most fun-filled productions of Fashion Week, and the father-son duo behind Manuel even got a standing ovation at the finale.
Color Palette: Black, white, brown, beige were shown alongside glittery sequins and denim fabrics.
Silhouettes: For women: Sleeveless leather jackets, cargo pants, cuffed denim skirts, matador-style jackets, and v-neck long ruffle dresses. For men: Matador jackets, tattered jeans, and button-down shirts with Swarovski crystals.
Accessories Report: For women: Pointy snakeskin boots had chains; some models had Swarovski crystal-encrusted broches in their hair.
What’s Wearable: Since most of the pieces were crystal-encrusted, it would be hard to wear them during the day. Many of the women’s evening dresses, however, are definitely wearable for fancy occasions. Men would appreciate the rugged denim and leather blazers.
What’s Not Wearable: At the very beginning of the show, two models - one male, one female - walked out wearing what looked like a bling-ed out bullet-holder. It was appealing for the Manuel runway, but it can’t really be translated onto the streets. The men’s shirts with crystals are also very Elvis-esque, so unless you’re trying to channel the King of Rock, we wouldn’t recommend.
September 18th, 2006
Photo Credit: New York Magazine
Key Takeaways: Alexandre Plokhov’s dark sense of humor and almost gothic style on the runway has translated once again into an excellently tailored and darkly rock-funk elegant collection. Models strutted down the runway with suiting, shirts with sharply ironed pants, and floppy short boots with buckle detailing. Black appeared in textures from shiny to matte, and plaids appeared on both jackets and long shorts.
Color Palette: Colors for this season are almost exactly the same as his Winter 2006 line, with a heavy emphasis on his love for black, black and more black. Other colors spotted were dark silver, dark blue, cherry red and a beige-white.
Silhouettes: Plokhov featured a very fit and lean sensibility. Straight leg (not tapered) pants graced the models’ legs in a variety of finishes and either tucked into boots or cut a little bit wider to fit over boots. One lone pair of shorts in a plaid print hit just above the knee. Jackets with fit sleeves insisted that no bulky sweaters would be worn underneath, and long sleeve shirts maintained the same cut. A black V-neck vest contrasted heavily with another long sleeve shirt in cherry red.
Accessories Report: The floppy slightly pointed boots in a variety of colors (white, black, grey) hit just above the ankle and sported a delightful side buckle detail. The versatile slouchy boot can be worn with pants tucked in or with wider legged pants covering it, meaning these boots can be still be used after the skinny pant leg trend is over. We also spotted medium sized belts in black and white, perfect for finishing off the stark outfits.
What’s Wearable: While the red may be a bit too bright for the office, we did appreciate the casual chic-ness of the zip-up mandarin collar jackets with slanted dual zippers.
What’s Not Wearable: As always, white has a tendency to be very sheer, so be sure to wear either a full length undershirt or forgo the shirt for one of its button-down brethren in a darker color.
September 15th, 2006
Photo Credit: New York Magazine
Key Takeaways: If Michael Kors has his way, footless tights - some with sequins - are here to stay through Spring. Much like his peer Marc Jacobs, the famed Project Runway judge featured a lot of layering in his Spring 2007 collection. Off-the-shoulder dresses were brought back again, as were skinny scarves and sweaters tied at the hip. Kors did a wonderful job of catering at once to ulta-hip fashionistas and more conservative types with a collection that was all about lifestyle.
Color Palette: Hues were muted: khaki, black, white, light pink, army green, brown, and grey. Sequins also featured prominently.
Silhouettes: For women, key silhouettes included asymmetrical skirts, dresses, and tops; tulip skirts, footless tights, short-sleeve blazers, and off-the-shoulder tops. For men: crisply clean suits and ribbed zip-up hoodies.
Accessories Report: For women: Wide and even wider belts worn at the natural waist (worn over bathing suits, skirts, dresses, and tops), thin scarves, bulky and boxy satchels, and clutches. For men: sweaters tied at the hip, messenger bags.
What’s Wearable: Every single piece in Kors’ collection is meant to be worn, especially the drapey dresses that exuded a relaxed sexiness. Men will love the simplicity Kors expressed in the suits and trousers.
September 15th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Get ready to go sailing in Trovata’s Spring collection. The underlying theme, for both men and women, was seafaring, and each piece reflected the cool, casual feel of an expedition to sea. Key Spring 2007 trends included shorts, trapeze styles, and cuffed styles.
Color Palette: Crisp white, green, blue, brown, light blue, black, and yellow.
Silhouettes: For men: Crew neck styles, short sleeved sweaters, hooded sweatshirts, cutoff khaki shorts, cuffed cargos, and cardigans. For women: mini shirtdresses, trapeze jackets, cuffed shorts, cropped trenchcoats, and triangle-shaped Bermuda pants.
Accessories Report: Both men and women sported long, layered charm necklaces. For men: floppy caps, fedora hats, frilly scarves, and bucket caps. For women: large canvas bags, charm bracelets, belts at waist, silk scarves on head, and big floppy hats.
What’s Wearable: If you like the seaside look, everything is wearable. We’re digging the navy blue strapless dress with nautical button detailing (pictured).
What’s Not Wearable: We’re a bit skeptical about charm necklaces for men. The look is too much for traditionally primped metrosexual men, and other men don’t usually like to sport jewels.
September 14th, 2006
Photo Credit: Coutorture
Key Takeaways: Designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver maintain a fashionable sense of humor with spring apparel that is both uber-baggy and uniquely tailored. All in all, it’s casual clothing for the lazy model.
Color Palette: Soft blues and earthy tones are combined with solid grays and blacks to create a simple, yet eye catching palette.
Silhouettes: We see a clear journey in the silhouettes as the garments progressed – first gangsta baggy, then loose-fit, and then fitted.
Accessories Report: A couple of strategically placed beanies are the only accessories in sight in this collection.
What’s Wearable: Although the sweaters are two sizes too big on all the models, they look very comfortable –same goes with some of the pants. We also appreciated a brown plaid hooded suit, which was both enjoyable and innovative. As for other forms of outerwear, most of the blazers are doable for the fashion savvy man – especially the black and white print ones.
What’s Not Wearable: The holey deconstructed piece seemed more suitable for a stylish hobo in a back alley drinking a 40 oz. out of a paper bag. Also, he ballooning pants looked like scrub bottoms for the big and tall. They would not only make pre-bankrupt M.C. Hammer happy, but they would also fit a family of four comfortably. Very funny, guys!
September 13th, 2006
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