Posts filed under 'Runway Reviews'

Fashion Week Notebook | Ralph Lauren

Key Takeaways: Lots of Nautica + Military + Bohemian = Pirates?

Color Palette: Navy and white, grey, gold, maroon.

Silhouettes: Military jackets with nautical-striped tanks; mermaid skirts, both long and short; skirt suits; ruffles.

Accessories Report: The collection was not complete without the necessary accessories: aviators, solid gold and netted bags, skullcaps, beaded necklaces and long, dangly earrings.

What’s Wearable: Every individual piece in this collection. However, we spotted a perfect skirt suit for work.

What’s Not Wearable: Skinny pinstripes with wide pinstripes, unless you want to look like a candy striper.

Add comment September 17th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Zac Posen

Key Takeaways: Zac Posen’s apparel was more intricate than that of his fashion peers. Some highlights included jackets and dresses with cutout designs and slouchy, cuffed hot pants.

Color Palette: The rainbow. A plethora of pastels, plus royal blue, wine red and Madras plaid.

Silhouettes: Form-fitting outfits with flared skirts, muumuus taken down a notch, and short or cropped trenches.

Accessories Report: Oversized floppy hats, python-print bags and fringed suede bags were in abundance.

What’s Wearable: A beige leather cutout bolero.

What’s Not Wearable: Giant pitch tents the width of an entire runway.

Add comment September 15th, 2005

Fashion Week Notebook | Vera Wang

Key Takeaways: Gathered taffeta; asymmetrical skirts and dresses.
Color Palette: Typical black tie event colors, plus taffeta in paprika, lavender and iridescent chartreuse.
Silhouettes: Poufy sleeves, bubble skirting, ruffled hems, and gathered or shirred fabrics.

Accessories Report: Obi sashes around the waist.

What’s Wearable: Rose and forest green, an unusual but fresh color combo.

What’s Not Wearable: Overly fussy and asymmetrical taffeta ensembles.

Add comment September 15th, 2005

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

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