Posts filed under 'Runway Reviews'
Key Takeaways: Last season was about controlled volume, and while this season continued that theme, it was more about volume and less about control. Key trends include (1) Bubble skirts, (2) Waistline emphasis, (3) Oversized collars, (4) Voluminous Sleeves, (5) Asymmetry, (6) Ruffles, and (7) Boatneck necklines, and (8) Fur trim detailing.
Color Palette: Mostly neutrals and muted colors, with splashes of red, blue, and gold.
Silhouettes: Three major silhouettes: (1) Slim all over, (2) Full over slim, (3) Slim over Full. Perhaps the most memorable silhouette is the bubble skirt with fabric gathers at the waistline. Oscar also showed oversized collars, boatnecked styles, cape-like jackets, tuxedo detailing, poufy sleeves, and an overwhelming emphasis on the waistline.
Accessories Report: Long gloves, trunk-like purses, necklaces with giant beads, and clutches.
What’s Wearable: Eveningwear Standouts: A little black dress (shown above) that’s anything but ordinary–short sleeves, cinched belted waistline, and an cross between a boatneck and a funnel neckline. And that sexy black lace strapless number that accentuates a woman’s hourglass figure.
What’s Not Wearable: A blouse with a leg of mutton sleeve…reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld’s "Pirate shirt." The bubble skirt, as is, is going to be a tough one to pull off.
Want more Fall 2006 trend information? Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap!
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Carolina Herrera’s collection encompassed both business-appropriate daywear and eveningwear. Key trends from this collection included (1) Emphasis on the waistline (throwback to Spring 06), (2) Voluminous sleeves (seems to be a Big Thing this season), (3) Natural to High waistlines, (4) Square sunglasses, (5) Boatnecked styles, (6) 3/4 length coats, and (7) Tights. Embellishments included fur trims, beaded styles, and bows (also So Spring 06).
Color Palette: Both warm (red, orange) and cool (turquoise, lilac) colors complemented Herrera’s base of neutrals.
Silhouettes: Waistlines were either at the natural waist or above, though bottoms came in both fitted and baggy varieties. Sleeves tended to be voluminous, either at the shoulder or at the wristline. Herrera seems to have a thing for asymmetry–and 3/4 length styles (both coats and sleeves came in this length).
What’s Wearable: Personal standout: An exquisitely detailed pintucked black sheath dress. We also appreciated her asymmetric suits, her slim pencil skirts, and her boatnecked jackets.
What’s Not Wearable: Huge medallions around your neck…what are we, on the Sopranos? The Victorian-inspired getup with the pouf sleeves and Full skirt isn’t going to win anyone any Best Dressed awards. Traci would also frown upon the vinyl-ish black and clear polka dotted dress.
What’s hot for Fall 2006? Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap!
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Key trends in Monique Lhuillier’s day-to-evening collection included (1) capes and capelets, (2) bell (and other voluminous) sleeves, (3) the Bubble silhouette, (4) higher waistlines, (5) oversized collars, (6) waistline emphasis, (7) oversized fabric brooches, (8) tuxedo-style detailing, and (10) fur.
Color Palette: Black, grey, turquoise, sky blue, and greyed out shades of rose and yellow-green.
Silhouettes: Lhuillier’s silhouettes tended to be either (1) big over small, or (2) small over big. Either way, they balanced out the body nicely (at least on a model’s figure). Particularly oversized items included sleeves, collars, capes, and bubble skirt silhouettes.
Accessories Report: The ubiquitous long gloove and an oversized fabric brooch.
What’s Wearable: A black cocktail dress with poufy ruffles caught our eye, as did a grey double breasted coat in a trapeze shape. Both daywear and eveningwear were highly wearable in this collection.
What’s Not Wearable: The heavily oversized brocade coat with 3/4 sleeves would be better left on the runway.
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: In the past three seasons, Narciso Rodriguez has been loosening up his silhouette. Even though fashion is heading towards the more voluminous, we wish that Rodriguez would stay true to his roots and give us more of the svelte, understated style that earned him the praise of the CDFA in the first place. For women, key trends are: (1) short sleeved dresses, (2) bubble shaped skirts, and (3) colorblocking. For men, the key trends are: (1) the Three Button Suit, (2) narrow ties, (3) knee length shorts, and (4) short sleeved sweaters.
Color Palette: Black and white, with shades of cream, peach, and bluish grey.
Silhouettes: Not the classic Rodriguez "fits like a glove" silhouette–even the fitted items were worn looser. We also saw capes, short sleeved dresses (a new trend?), and slightly bubble-shaped and flared skirts for women. For men, we saw slim cut three-button suits, narrow ties, knee length shorts (paired with a button down shirt, tie, and jacket!), 3/4 length coats, and short sleeved and sleeveless sweaters.
Accessories Report: Structured handbags, bags with chain handles, capes, and colorblocked knee-high boots.
What’s Wearable: Most everything shown, both for men and women, is wearable, though we would appreciate a more structured fit to the clothing.
What’s Not Wearable: Shiny vinyl-type fabrics don’t generally translate well off the runway. We also won’t be wearing Rodriguez’s long sleeved dress with a center front lower torso vertical cutout. And because of the generous cut, some of the dresses ended up looking matronly.
February 8th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: A major turtleneck comeback is in the works. For one, BCBG has elongated the traditional turtleneck into a slimming mini dress. Turtlenecks were also layered beneath dresses, saying goodbye to the bare décolleté. Knee-length boots are old news, but this collection saw knee-length tights peeping out from under the boots. This BCBG girl is less sophisticated and more medieval and carefree. Tres innovative!
Color Palette: Black, teal, blue, rustic orange, purple, brown, mustard yellow, khaki, and grey.
Silhouettes: Things are pretty loose around here: Chiffon dresses, puffy shorts, knit jackets, cropped cardigans. The turtleneck dresses are the exception to this rule because of their stretchy nature.
Accessories Report: Knit beanies are a must; almost every outfit in the collection has a matching one. White and black square and tiny glasses (looked more like reading glasses than shades) were also prevalent. An occasional mid-size handbag with a chain-link strap was seen. And the latest trend brought back from the Clueless era: knee highs.
What’s Wearable: The turtleneck dresses should definitely be sported with a pair of tights, especially on a rainy day. Many of the fancier dresses are quite practical as well.
What’s Not Wearable: If you choose to work the knee highs under the boots, you take the risk of looking like an agricultural farmer. One kimono-like jacket with wide sleeves is quite unflattering, even on a stick skinny model. Finally, one fancy gold dress with a turtleneck underneath looks more like a walking lampshade than a dress.
February 8th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Knit sweaters, knee highs, and heavy scarves worn like neck braces dominated this collection. Although feminine and girly touches existed, only a really confident woman could pull off these clothes with great ease.
Color Palette: Black, off-white, neutrals, pink, grey, brown, grayish blue, and olive green.
Silhouettes: Steffe riffed on some common fashion week themes: bubble skirts, flowy dresses, and knit jackets.
Accessories Report: Thin belts worn at the waist, scarves worn like neck braces, knee high stockings, t-strap heels, and once again, the ubiquitous long leather gloves.
What’s Wearable: Many of the pieces in this collection are wearable, but like we stated in other collections, there needs to be a bit of modification. A knit short-sleeve jacket paired with a knee-length khaki skirt is doable without the black knee highs.
What’s Not Wearable: The knee high comeback may not translate as well on the streets as it did on the big screen in “Clueless.â€
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: The sisters of “Little Women†gone wild – that’s the essence of Mr. Coviello’s Fall 2006 collection. As a co-worker of the famous Anna Sui, Coviello’s knack for the vintage focuses on the aspects of the sophisticated bohemian rather than the naïve school girl.
Color Palette: A prismatic bolt of browns take center stage, while supporting shades include hints of warm blues, greens, pinks and maroons.
Silhouettes: A combination of fitted and relaxed is shown in the various pieces. For the most part, fitted tops lead down to relaxed, draping slacks. Asian influenced tailoring is used nicely, and knee-length skirts give a pleasant shape to the troublesome female hip zone. The numerous mutated slip dresses with flowy capped sleeves and sporadic ruffles aren’t brand-spankin’ new, but the delicate material used gives an applauded feminine shape.
Accessories Report: Leather shoulder purses suit the collection very well, while wispy scarves give elongated necks appreciative texture. As always, Coviello adds his own personal touch of chic corsages that are beautifully urban rather than trendy soccer mom.
What’s Wearable: Each piece of Coviello outerwear (blazers, boleros and coats) promises to be the concept of many copycats out there. The multi-colored quilted cardigan is most appealing. The contrast of hard tweeds with sweet cascading fabrics is feminine with a hard professional edge, and the puffy sleeves are done in a tasteful way that makes them look wearable. The prints he uses are also great standing alone – they are both understated and stylish.
What’s Not Wearable: Mixing different types of patterns is a good trend, but some of the pieces go a little bit overboard. It’s no question that Coviello can do wonders with vintage style. Even so, some of his vintage-inspired clothing looks a little bit too old for general fashionista audiences. There was one patterned dress in particular that was unflattering and it looked like a table cloth/second hand house dress.
February 8th, 2006
Photo Credit: NY Metro
Key Takeaways: Tights were a lot sheerer, dresses a lot shorter, and the entire collection a bit more grown up than usual Betsey Johnson. Some aspects of the 80’s were revived with sweetheart cuts, humongous shiny bows, and puffy short sleeves. Although this new Betsey Johnson girl still has a bit of edge and spunk, she’s outgrown cartwheels. (Of course, Betsey will always do cartwheels…but then again she gets away with doing more than anyone her age).
Color Palette: Mostly black with hints of gold, navy blue, off-white, grey, lime green, pink, royal blue, green, purple, red, teal, and yellow.
Silhouettes: There was a lot of short, leg-revealing dresses, but they were by no means tight. Many sweetheart (Hello 1985!) and v-neck cuts showed up, as well as some babydoll dresses.
Accessories Report: We saw a few handbags with colorful embellishments floating around. Shoes were mainly pointy ankle boots and open-toed sandals. Occasionally, we saw a thick studded belt and a thin silk neck tie.
What’s Wearable: Some dresses are appropriate to wear at a fancy soiree, but they must be paired with tights as they are so short. Various skirts suits and jackets are also wearable.
What’s Not Wearable: It’s better for everyone if the ‘80s stuff stays in the closet. One dress with cutouts in the stomach area oozed less class and more trash.
February 8th, 2006
Key Takeaways: With his own brand of aesthetic, the Malaysian designer brings forth a “furâ€-ocious collection of femme fatale garments that are perfect for work, cocktail parties and sexy espionage.
Color Palette: The foundation of solid blacks and grays is touched with icy blues and pinks.
Silhouettes: The blacks and grays are easily trace the lines of the female figure, but Toi’s remarkable tailoring skills give an extra dimension of feminine supremacy. The sleek matrix style contains variations of basic black by utilizing plaids in pant suits. Toi’s dresses and skirts are flattered with wispy empire waists that give maternal sensuality. All styles outline curves and give clean looks suitable for professionals and socialites alike.
Accessories Report: Although PETA might get their vegan cotton in a wad, fur is top-notch this season. Toi brings back the lost art of the mink stole with a monstrous addition to his pant suits. Wide belts add subtle panache to monochromatic suits. In addition, envelope clutches add a classy touch to much of his evening wear.
What’s Wearable: Toi gives justice to the polar extremes that involve women: the immaculate and the confident. The detailing work on many of his garments is magnificent. From his majestically sexy red carpet evening wear to his luxurious pant suits, each garment brings something to the table. Out of the two, the double breasted pant suits flatter to a "T" and go with the ongoing fall theme of the “powerful working woman.†Toi also manages to throw in a couple of menswear pieces that are just as fine as his women’s wear.
What’s Not Wearable: Fur is fun, but from a functionality standpoint, the potential excess shedding can cause problems with Toi’s black color palette.
Want more trend information? Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap!
February 7th, 2006
Key Takeaways: Kit Willow’s Fall 2006 collection was very much in line with the overall trends we’ve been seeing: high waistlines, belted styles, layering dresses over turtlenecks, Huge collars, and voluminous shapes.
Color Palette: Neutrals: Black, White, Grey, and Brown, with splashes of green-yellow and pink.
Silhouettes: Very full on top or the bottom, or an overall slim silhouette. Also favored are highly constructed bustier style dresses.
Accessories Report: Belts with huge metal buckles.
What’s Wearable: Layering dresses over turtlenecks, high waisted styles, bustier-style dresses.
What’s Not Wearable: Beware of the jackets with the HUGE collars…they’ll make you look disproportionate.
Check out Omiru’s Mid Fashion Week Trend Recap for more fun with trends!
February 7th, 2006
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