Posts filed under 'Women'

Fashion Week Notebook | Michael Kors

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.

Add comment September 15th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Peter Som

Key Takeaways: Nautica.

Color Palette: The colors of the beach: White, beige, grey, gold and various shades of blue; paisley metallic prints; fringe.

Silhouettes: Dresses fit for royalty with drop waists and fantail hems; puffed sleeves; boatneck tops.

What’s Wearable: Som’s rendition of the sailor pant, which draped on his models so beautifully.

What’s Not Wearable: The transparent blouses worn without undergarments. We’re not sure of  Som’s intention here.

Add comment September 15th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Narciso Rodriguez

Key Takeaways: Rodriguez echoed the silhouettes of past collections, though the idea of controlled volume still appeared somewhat fresh in the larger context of fashion week. Shapes were architectural, with arcs and cutouts, as in past seasons. We saw seamed suits, less strict than ones from the past. However, Rodriguez is clearly straying from his forte—the sexy, architectural, and precisely tailored garments that propelled him to fame.

Rodriguez’s menswear collection launched this season. Filled with minimalist, classic pieces in mainly black and white, it largely echoed the sensibilities of his current womenswear collection.

Color Palette: Minimal and neutral. Black, white, silver, violet, and brown.

Silhouettes: Skirts with a length a little below the knee. High (and empire) waistlines. Controlled volume: tight bodices, fuller skirts. Architectural shapes, arcs, and cutouts.

Accessories Report: Low wedge sandals.

What’s Wearable: Still love the architectural feel of Rodriguez’s designs. What we love about Narciso Rodriguez is the inherent wearability of his minimalist designs. As usual, the collection was all wearable, and we’ll no doubt be seeing these designs on celebrities come spring.

What’s Not Wearable: Nothing.

Add comment September 14th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Behnaz Sarafpour

Key Takeaways: Sarafpour’s collection was a study in contrasts: black with white, structured with deconstructed, dressy with casual.

Color Palette: Almost exclusively black-and-white, as well as some neutrals and animal prints.

Silhouettes: Tons of ruffles, tiered column dresses, pleated, wide-leg culottes, oversized pockets, shift dresses, oversized bows (also seen at Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta).

Accessories Report: Sarafpour’s handbag collection made its debut this season. While few were on display, we caught glimpses of a grey wool clutch and a black-and-white satchel with oversized bow ornaments.

What’s Wearable: Wrap trench coats in sateen and elegant, floaty dresses with tiered ruffles.

What’s Not Wearable: Fussy pairings such as an ivory lace collar worn with a cotton tank and a long, tiered, ruffled skirt. Clean lines work much better.

Add comment September 14th, 2005

Mid-Fashion Week Trend Report

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!

Add comment September 14th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Marc by Marc Jacobs

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.

Add comment September 14th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Project Alabama

Key Takeaways: Project Alabama started the show with a series of fitted black and navy outfits that mesh with fashion’s current trend towards minimalism. However, the show turned more colorful with geometric and botanical prints on the same basic silhouette: fitted on top, full on bottom. Visually, the prints gave an ethnic feeling to the collection, a trend that’s somewhat tired after a couple of seasons on the runway.

Color Palette: Black and Navy, with additions of Yellow, White, and Red.

Silhouettes: A slim waistline, scoop necklines, and full skirts. Belted looks.

What’s Wearable: The fitted bodices and full skirts are generally flattering. Project Alabama’s minimalist black dresses are especially on-trend.

What’s Not Wearable: Like at Luca Luca, multiple loud prints in the same outfit.

Add comment September 13th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Oscar de la Renta

Key Takeaways: Oscar de la Renta played with the idea of controlled volume. Volume could be found either on a top or bottom, but generally not both. This volume made itself manifest through design details like blousy sleeves, a generous fit around the torso, peplums, and ruffles on skirts.

Trendwise, Oscar de la Renta made statements around a few different areas: horizontal lines and design details, oversized bows, animal prints, boxy jackets, and the return of long jackets. He also made a somewhat awkward attempt to mix the uber-casual with the formal, pairing an embellished logo t-shirt with a ball-worthy elegant skirt. Interesting idea, but the execution felt lacking somehow.

Color Palette: Natural and neutral, for the most part. Browns, beiges, and creams were spruced up with greens, oranges, reds, and blues.

Silhouettes: The main idea here was controlled volume: either the top or the bottom of a look was volumized. A fitted halter top, for example, with a pair of high-waisted wide legged pants. Beyond controlled volume, again, we’re seeing an emphasis on a higher waistline. Long jackets also made a comeback, as did boxy jackets. The peasant blouses and tiered skirts looked fresher a couple seasons back.

Accessories Report: Tote bags, scarves with textural interest, clutches, ladylike gloves, chunky necklaces with varying strands of colors and sizes.

What’s Wearable: Most everything. We especially liked the high-waisted pants and skirts for the illusion of longer legs.

What’s Not Wearable: Oversized bows. Just say no. The t-shirt with a ball gown skirt is also one of those “don’t try this at home” ideas—leave this look to the stylists.

Add comment September 13th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Marc Jacobs

Key Takeaways: Marc Jacobs’ collections are more about directionality of fashion trends rather than wearability, and this collection was no exception. Among the fresher trends Jacobs is espousing: controlled volume, emphasis on the waist, a higher waistline, a movement away from bodyhugging fashions, and a return to minimalism. Of particular interest, trendwise, is Jacobs’ almost origami-like fabric folding. Continuing trends from prior seasons include preppy schoolgirl fashion, tiered styles, and an emphasis on gold and shimmer.

Color Palette: Minimalist and natural. Lots of black, shades of brown and beige, yellow, white, navy, and green.

Silhouettes: Controlled volume, draped dresses, higher waistlines, wide-legged bottoms, oversized jackets and sweaters.

Accessories Report: Ladylike gloves, belted looks, thin bags, and knee-high stockings paired with skirts.

What’s Wearable: Long jackets (for the shortwaisted), wide-legged pants, oversized sweaters, draped dresses, and the slight A-line skirts (almost universally flattering).

What’s Not Wearable: Shapeless dresses, extremely oversized shorts. Some of the looks were styled more for directionality than wearability—steer clear of exaggerated shapes.

1 comment September 13th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Carolina Herrera

Key Takeaways: Carolina Herrera embraced embellishment (through print and accessories) and, to a lesser extent, the minimalism towards which fashion is trending. We like the exaggerated scoop neck on her vests, and we feel that she’s perfectly on trend with her short shorts, higher waisted styles, and overall emphasis on the waistline.

Color Palette: Black and white prints, shades of brown and tan, pink, and baby blue.

Silhouettes: Low cut vests shown over tailored shirts, short shorts, A-line and fitted skirts, high-waisted and empire styles.

Accessories Report: Square shaped oversized sunglasses, belts, chunky necklaces. Nothing new here.

What’s Wearable: Most everything, especially the vest over tailored shirt look, the flirty sundresses with waist-emphasis, and the floaty evening gowns.

What’s Not Wearable: Oversized bows. They’re too clownish. Didn’t like them as a little girl, don’t like them now. Extreme dropped waistlines: fitted dresses that hug the body until the hips and then flare out don’t flatter even model-shaped bodies.

Add comment September 13th, 2005

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