Posts filed under 'Runway Reviews'
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.
September 13th, 2005
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.
September 13th, 2005
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.
September 13th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Trendwise, the big story from Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough is the idea of controlled volume, which showed up around cuffs on sleeves, on pockets, on oversized blouses, and at the waistlines of a number of almost tulip-shaped skirts. Though the duo is clearly talented, this season’s collection appeared to stray from their young target demographic. Several long, boxy jackets with contrast fabric detailing, for example, looked more appropriate for the mothers of their usual clientele. The gold fabric used for a few looks also came off as unflattering, due to a slight greenish tinge. Where the duo hit their stride was in their tailored-style garments: the empire waist dresses, tuxedo-style jackets, and in the final look of the collection, a particularly well-done trenchcoat.
Color Palette: Mainly neutrals: white, cream, shades of brown, from tan to chocolate. Gold also played a significant role in the collection, but the shade chosen was a bit greenish and ultimately unflattering.
Silhouettes: Empire waistlines, boxy jackets, tulip skirts, trenchcoats, embellished tuxedo looks. The duo’s signature collarless jackets and bra-top type dresses.
Accessories Report: Rope necklaces. A nod to the nautical theme from the last year?
What’s Wearable: Great blouses with controlled volume, flattering empire waist dresses, and many of the collection’s sportswear pieces, including the great blouses with controlled volume and the boxy coats.
What’s Not Wearable: Shapeless oversized dresses and the looks that were reminiscent of a (luxe) nightgown. Skirts that end at mid-calf are also unflattering on all but the longest legs. Some of the embellished jackets felt a little old and unflattering.
September 12th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Traces of the 1920s to the 1960s could be felt in Ashleigh Verrier’s debut New York Fashion Week collection. Especially well done were her ruched blouses and pencil skirts. Mixing masculine and feminine elements, Verrier added another dimension to the collection. A masculine women’s tuxedo shirt, for example, was paired with a feminine pencil skirt. In another look, a blouse and silk tank accompanied a masculine-tinged pair of pinstriped pants. All in all, Verrier’s debut collection was a beautifully done stroll down fashion’s memory lane.
Color Palette: Cream and white, various shades of blue, orange, green, and purple.
Silhouettes: Body-hugging blouses and pencil skirts, belted looks, shift dresses, slipdresses, and shirtdresses that felt like modernized versions of 1950s Americana.
What’s Wearable: Most of the collection. In particular, we Love Verrier’s camel coat with the rounded Peter Pan collar. Very Audrey Hepburn in the mid 1960s.
What’s Not Wearable: Some of the pencil skirts may be a bit severe, and the tuxedo shirt struck us as on the theatrical side.
What Makes Verrier Special: Her unique juxtapositions of masculine and feminine items.
September 12th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Diane von Furstenberg deftly combined colors and patterns in her flirty, pretty, and sometimes even preppy collection for Spring 2006. Geometric and botanical patterns were balanced in a set of well-styled outfits that ranged from black and white to tropical colored. Flirty sundresses, sportswear separates (loved her cardigan in green), and slinky evening dresses—DVF showed them all. We applaud this collection not only for its fresh feeling, but also for its wearability.
Color Palette: A number of looks were styled in black and white. Others combined tropical colors: Yellow, Brown, Coral, and Green. Some interesting color combinations:
Coral + White, Coral + Green, Yellow + Brown.
Silhouettes: Full, swinging skirts and voluminous tulip skirt shapes; Trenchcoats; A-line and empire waist styles; Fitted bodices. Both draped and tailored looks.
Accessories Report: Printed tote bags worn under the arm.
What’s Wearable: Just about everything—especially the flirty sundresses.
What’s Not Wearable: Voluminous tulip skirt shapes on dresses, some of the more shapeless dresses (rather unflattering on anything other than a model’s figure).
Our Favorite Dress: We love how this dress elegantly bridges the gap between the embellishment of seasons past with the minimalism of fashions to come.
September 12th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Luca Orlandi embraced print and embellishment for his Caribbean-inspired collection, perhaps too much. With a few of the looks, the mixing and matching of patterns was overwhelming. However, Orlandi also showed a number of 60s inspired (at least in terms of silhouette) sundresses that seemed much more wearable.
Color Palette: White, beige, and brown along with bursts of color: yellows, greens, reds, purples, blues, oranges, etc. Bright colors, reminiscent of a tropical vacation.
Silhouettes: Voluminous skirts and pants, plunging necklines, tulip skirts (seen in previous Luca Luca collections), boxy jackets, sweaters with pushed up sleeves, rounded Peter Pan collars, sweet sundresses, and an emphasis on a higher waistline.
Accessories Report: More belts (at the natural waistline), and chunky necklaces and oversized bags. Not much new here.
What’s Wearable: Pretty sundresses in innocent 1960s shapes.
What’s Not Wearable: Multiple prints in the same outfit. Even the most seasoned of designers have trouble balancing prints in a single look. Don’t try this one at home!
September 12th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Ladylike separates and dresses in neutral colors. Doo Ri Chung mixed materials, pairing shimmery with matte, and brought structured and drapey silhouettes into harmony. Our take? It’s not the kind of collection that will Wow fashion editors. However, we loved it for it’s unashamed wearability.
Color Palette: Neutral. Lots of Gold, Tan, Blush and White.
Silhouettes: Pencil-thin skirts, Wide-legged pants, Empire waistlines, Trapeze dresses, Trenchcoats.
What’s Wearable: Most everything. We Loved Doo Ri’s dresses, in particular.
What’s Not Wearable: Some of the pieces, though tame for the runway, were still too voluminous for streetwear. Also, beware of silk charmeuse and other shiny fabrics, as they accentuate any bulges and make the wearer look larger.
September 12th, 2005
Key Takeaways: Grown up innocence, for lack of a better term. United Bamboo juxtaposed little girl type detailing: scalloped detailing at the waist, rounded Peter Pan collars, button-ups, and patch-type pockets with hardware: sinuous body hugging zippers, buckles, and snaps.
Color Palette: Black, grey, and white, with yellows and blues. Touches of purple, orange. Great color combination: yellow + orange.
Silhouettes: Unexaggerated volume, empire waistlines, high-waisted pants, double-breasted jackets, trapeze dresses.
Accessories Report: Looks like topsiders are back.
What’s Wearable: High-waisted pants (great for the long waisted/people with short legs), empire waistlines (almost universally flattering), and double-breasted jacket styles (for the tall). Peter Pan collars are a maybe, depending on how you wear them. The rounded collar, for example, is Adorable on a tailored princess line coat.
What’s Not Wearable: Scalloped detailing at the waist, which looked excessively cartoonish. Looking like you walked out of a Disney movie is generally not a positive fashion statement. The body-hugging zipper detailing was also a look that should be seen Only on the Runway.
We Love this Color Combination: Yellow + Orange.
September 11th, 2005
Key Takeaways: For the debut of Imitation of Christ’s denim line, Tara Subkoff went Dark Americana. The IOC show mixed innocent pieces like jumpers and little girl sundresses with come hither High red heels, racy lace-up detailing, and bondage-style handcuffs. As the show progressed, the clothes lightened up, first with distressed denim looks. The show finished with a ballet of retro-style chiffon dresses.
Color Palette: (Denim) blue, white, red, and black.
Silhouettes: T-shirts and jeans, with heels. Little girl styles: jumpers and sundresses. Retro-style chiffon dresses. Cropped pants: short shorts, mid-calf length pants, and ankle-length pants.
Accessories Report: Fedora hats, Slouchy boots (continuing trend), High heels.
What’s Wearable: Most everything. T-shirts and jeans—very white bread. The sundresses are adorable. The chiffon dresses are also party-able.
What’s Not Wearable: We’re a no-go on the mid-calf length shorts. Some of the distressed denim is a bit extreme. Also, leave the handcuffs at home.
September 11th, 2005
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