Posts filed under 'Runway Reviews'
Key Takeaways: Alexander McQueen’s collection started off as slightly subversive and preppy/nautical-inspired, but by the end of the show, McQueen had moved all the way over to the land of the avant garde, with sequins, feathers, and capes.
Color Palette: White, Beige, Grey, Gold, Red, Purple, Blue and Black.
Silhouettes: Three piece suits, turned up shirt cuffs, knee-length shorts, double breasted jackets, man boleros, capes. McQueen showed both fitted, tailored looks and slightly more blousy garments.
Accessories Report: Baseball caps, sailor hats, socks pulled up to the knee, untied ties as scarves, belts, ties as belts, rope belts, flip flops, short ties.
What’s Wearable: Turned up shirt cuffs, ¾ length jackets (almost universally flattering on men, especially when tailored thin), ties as belts (seen this one before, but it’s quirky yet wearable),untied ties as scarves, three piece suits.
What’s Not Wearable: The Man Bolero, Sequins and Feathers. Also stay away from capes unless you’re [insert the action hero of your choice here].
September 21st, 2005
Key Takeaways: Faux formal collection mixing high and low elements. Perfect for the urban man with a bit of an edge.
Color Palette: Purely neutrals, and predominantly black, with touches of white, beige, and greys.
Silhouettes: Fitted silhouettes. Skinny, straight-legged pants and shorts paired with tailored jackets, shirts, and skinny ties.
Accessories Report: Boots!
What’s Wearable: Great detailing on the jackets, and they’re a natural addition to any stylish man’s closet. We also liked the double breasted cardigan sweater for an edgy take on prep school chic.
What’s Not Wearable: Jacket + Dress Shirt + Tie + Shorts. It’s a bit extreme for the normal man.
September 20th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Overall, not the most wearable menswear collection. Bright hues paired with v-necked silkscreen tees; fitted, button-down shirts with slouchy pleated pants; leather blazers and zip-up jackets.
Color Palette: Sky blue, curry yellow, dark chocolate brown, and orange, in addition to traditional menswear colors.
Silhouettes: Buttoned-up button-down shirts, zippered jackets, fitted leather blazers.
Accessories Report: Cowboy boots and coked-out gazes at the audience.
What’s Wearable: An egregiously-cut, classy-looking pewter silk blend suit with a beige leather belt.
What’s Not Wearable: A zippered jacket in an oddly feminine print.
September 15th, 2005
Key Takeaways: In typical Kors fashion, this collection was urban, effortless chic. Kors filled the runway with lighter fabrics in neutral colors such as army green, beige and cream. Practically every female model wore a hip-slung or waist-cinching leather belt.
Color Palette: Black, white, neutrals and batik and camouflage prints.
Silhouettes: Silk scarves for both men and women, batik prints, eyelet, long, ruffle-tiered column skirts and dresses, formal wear for men dressed down with sandals.
Accessories Report: Kors offered messenger bags for men and women, as well as cammo backpacks for men and woven leather bags for women.
What’s Wearable: Virtually everything.
What’s Not Wearable: Unless we’re at the beach, bikini tops with flowy skirts.
September 15th, 2005
Since we’re over halfway through New York Fashion Week’s Spring 2006 collections, we thought we’d give you a quick recap of the trends we’ve been noticing.
Overarching Trends
- Return to Minimalism
- Age of Innocence: Youthful fashions from a simpler time
- Neutral, natural colors: Black, white, shades of brown and beige
Garment Detailing
- Hardware & Fastenings: Buttons, zippers, snaps, etc.
- Peter Pan collars
- Bows
- Abundance of fabric prints & multi-print combinations
Silhouette
- Controlled volume
- Emphasis on waist
- Higher waistlines, at natural waist or above
Garments
- Shorts: Short shorts, knee-length shorts, and ankle styles abound
- Trenchcoats
- Tulip skirts
- Boxy jackets
- Long jackets
- Double breasted styles
- Wide legged pants
- Full skirts
- Vests
Accessories
- Belts!
- Slip-on shoes
- Across-the-body bags
- Fedoras
- Caps
- Ladylike gloves
- Dogtag necklaces
We’ll flesh out these ideas after the Craziness that is Fashion Week is over!
September 14th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Layering is Hot. Marc Jacobs facilitated the layering process via foundation bodysuits upon which you can layer more clothing. Interesting combinations included a voluminous short dress over a jumpsuit, with a scarf tie, and a bustier over a tee.
We also noted Marc Jacobs’ fascination with fastenings. Buttons, ties, zippers, buckles, suspenders—you name it, this collection has it.
Color Palette: Muted neutrals with touches of blue, pink, purple, coral, yellow, and green.
Silhouettes: Bodysuits and knit foundation garments. Layering volume and shape upon body-hugging garments.
Accessories Report:
- Hats and caps—from Civil War style hats to Peter Pan style hats to newsboy caps, they’re on Marc Jacobs’ radar.
- Across-the-body bags also hit it big, along with a fanny pack worn diagonally across the back.
- Socks covering the ankle and lower leg, as well as arm warmers.
- In keeping with the season’s emphasis on the waistline, belts were featured prominently as well.
- Also interesting: the next big jewelry trend just may be the multiple dogtag look. Dogtags have been on the radar for awhile, and Marc Jacobs’ dogtag collage necklace just may be the next step in the evolution of the trend.
What’s Wearable: The layering concept, but less extreme. We also appreciate the focus on fastenings, since we’re big fans of hardware.
What’s Not Wearable: Bodysuits, by themselves. Leotards for anything other than exercise. The suspenders as a halter tie look, unless you’re feeling avant garde.
September 14th, 2005
Key Takeaways: As usual, John Varvatos gave us a fresh take on some classic garment classifications: sport shirts, motorcycle jackets, trenchcoats, cardigans, and even one-piece jumpers (don’t try that one at home!). Always mindful of the details, Varvatos’ key statements for the season included zipper detailing, rolled up and pushed up (or tsuzjed up, as Carson Kressley would say) sleeves, and a possible return to ombre.
Color Palette: Browns, Tan, Shades of White, Yellow, Orange, Light Blue. Great color combo: Yellow + Light Blue.
Silhouettes: Classic looks. Vests and Ties are back, with button down shirts with rolled up sleeves. Cardigans and pullover sweaters. The Trenchcoat also made an appearance, along with a variety of single (2 and 3 button) breasted and double breasted jackets. Rolled up sleeves are big on Varvatos’ agenda.
Accessories Report: Ombre scarves, Sneakers with big laces, Slip-on Shoes, and Caps.
What’s Wearable: Just about everything. We especially like the motorcycle jackets.
What’s Not Wearable: Mid-calf length shorts, and exceedingly long blazers. They distort even a model’s figure. Also steer clear of the one-piece jumpers. Somewhat interesting in a fashion spread in Vogue, but they’ll elicit thoughts of “what Are you wearing?†in Real Life.
Most Directional Look: Vest + Tie + Sport Shirt with rolled up sleeves.
September 11th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Reminds us of a crisp day out on the water in New England. Boating shoes, flip flops, shorts…very East Coast preppy. Of note was the emphasis on patterned fabric, rather than striped fabrics.
Color Palette: Mostly muted, with white, shades of cream, grey, and some black. Splashes of color included light blue with lime green, mustard yellow and blue, and orange.
Silhouettes: Rolled up sleeves, shorts of all lengths, from short shorts to knee-length to mid-calf. Blazers and bomber jackets. Straight legged pants.
Accessories Report: Boating shoes, flip flops, D-ring belts, Fedora hats, and oversized sunglasses that had an almost Prada ad-like feel.
What’s Wearable: Most everything, including the knee length shorts, rolled up sleeves, straight legged pants, and the standard blazer-sport shirt-trouser combination.
What’s Not Wearable: Just say no to short-shorts. Mid-calf length shorts also tend to be unflattering.
September 10th, 2005
Key Takeaways: The collection struck us as a modern take on Old Hollywood, with classic garments ranging from high-waisted wide legged trousers (channeling Katharine Hepburn, perhaps) for women to bomber jackets for men. Kenneth Cole chose the waist as the focal point for this collection, featuring a wide selection of belts, and a distinctively high waistline.
Color Palette: Muted for the most part, with shades of brown and grey. Yellow was also seen in abundance, along with shades of blue. Greens, purples, and red were sprinkled in as well.
Silhouettes: High waistlines, tailored looks mixed with loose fitting garments.
Accessories Report: Oversized squarish sunglasses, bags with hardware detailing, trapezoid-shaped bags, Belts!
What’s Wearable: Most looks, especially the high waisted trouser (for those of us that are longwaisted) and knee-length shorts (perfect for even petite proportions).
What’s Not Wearable: The blazer + shorts combo that started off the show is a no-go for most folks, especially for work. The short-shorts for men is also probably something to shy away from.
September 10th, 2005
Style Intelligence Report is pleased to present the Fashion Week Notebook!
Vicariously (and thanks to the amazing photographic coverage of the fashion shows by New York Metro and Style.com), we’re reporting on the fashion trends that you’ll be seeing come Spring 2006.
True to our mission of providing an intelligent look at fashion trends, we’ll be analyzing the fashion shows for trends—in silhouette, color, and garment classifications. And because of our strong belief in Real Style for Real People, we’ll be sorting out the runway-only looks from the wearable ones to give you insight into what you will actually want to be wearing come spring.
Ideas? Suggestions? Leave us a comment, or email us at styleintelligence@gmail.com.
September 10th, 2005
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