Best of New York Fashion Week 2

Halston was the designer that defined American 70's fashion. Elegant, luxurious, with a Studio 54 edge, it was definitely the brand to be seen in. However, after the designer's death, it became one of those houses that lack a solid creative identity and a solid clientele, until...now? There has been a lot of talk about Sarah Jessica Parker taking part in the creative direction of the brand. The designer, however, is Marios Schwab, and he has reworked the brand's heritage into a contemporary collection. Some of the dresses are quite ladylike; looking closely at them, though, it's easy to identify some of the typical Halston details.

Remember the time when Marc Jacobs' clothes were cute, playful and feminine and celebrities like Victoria Beckham didn't come into the picture? Those were the golden days, and Marc's latest collection seems to bring us back then. His new "no celebrity policy", Sofia Coppola-lookalike models and simple but perfectly cut clothes are very refreshing.

Monique Lhuillier's show was a (very fast) succession of fitted minidresses in juicy colours and sensual textures. No brainy or obscure concepts behind the dresses that looked nice for a night out. It was just fashion for the sake of fun, and that's cool.

Donna Karan was celebrating the 25th anniversary of her company. That's 25 years of her contributing to define the essence of New York's urban spirit. Her clothes somehow remind me of Woody Allen's films, working girls and intellectually stimulating parties. Her latest collection was amazingly built with precious materials like structured organza and velvet. Cocooning dresses, jackets and coats were everywhere. It was a covetable collection for women of all ages. Happy anniversary Ms. Karan!

There was a sophisticated concept of sexyness at Alexander Wang. The fastly growing brand, which is earning more and more devoted fans, was inspired by power-dressing in Wall Street. But, of course, there had to be a twist. Wang's girls are not into sobriety. Luscious minidresses and transparent tops were mixed with masculine trousers and blazers. Except for some draped dresses, which are a trademark of his, the whole show was evidently evolving towards a new direction.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while now probably know how much I like Canadian designer Rad Hourani. Not only because he is a lovely, talented person I've been lucky enough to meet, but also because his creative concept is a very unique one: unisex, out-of-time clothes compose each one of his collections, which are very far from being boring though. This time, there was exclusively black and navy blue during the whole show: the trick is to play with proportions and textures, and this is something Rad knows very well. The pieces were flattering and very avant-garde. We can all get ready to hear a lot about Rad; all eyes in the industry are focused on him.

Thakoon indulged in several types of fur, sometimes patchworking them in savagely chic coats. Maybe not very easy to wear, but combined with the minimal, straight-cut layerings of the collection they looked just lovely.
All in all it was an OK Fashion Week... not unforgettable nor outrageous. But as I said in my previous post, NY Fashion Week rarely is. I am now really looking forward to London Fashion Week. My contacts in the city are telling me it's simply fabulous! So I'll keep you updated about it.
Have a lovely weekend!

Best of New York Fashion Week 1

New York is not the Fashion Week I most look forward to... It's so far away (all the other ones can be comfortably reached by train from Paris) and its style is generally so practical and urban. It lacks the exhuberance of Milan, the creativity of London and the magnificence of Paris. Luckily there is an increasing group of designers who truly make the week worthwhile.

One of the most expected collections is always Proenza Schouler. I've been a long-time follower of their exquisite textures, patterns and straight-lined concept of femininity. Their summer collection was mastermind and the last one keeps the standards up. Although I personally was not a fan of their high-waisted graffiti-printed jeans, I can predict they will be one of the best-sellers of the season. What I really liked were the skirts: they are perfect to achieve an edgy sense of glamour. Also, I loved the dark burgundy lipstick.

This is an important collection for Rag & Bone: it's the first womenswear collection the duo have designed by themselves, and the result is girly but not obvious, easy to wear but not boring, classical but young indeed. The show was a succession of girls perfectly dressed to go to school on a cold winter's day, fully equipped with scarves, warm layerings and bags that were the perfect size for an iPhone. They looked so comfy and pretty it made me extremely jealous!

I'm certain I was not the only one counting the days left until Rodarte's show. Kate and Laura Mulleavy's creativity and craftmanship are simply amazing. Surprisingly, the collection was much lighter and happier than the one in September, and the patchwork was not so visible, but the whole show had a dreamlike qualityemphasized by the last few white dresses, made of crochet, lace and broderie anglaise. All in all, the collection is perfect for a young and romantic yet daring lady...

...And the Nicholas Kirkwood shoes! You all know I simply adore Kirkwood's work (art déco-inspired, ultra-contemporary, vertiginous-but-comfortable-and-cloudlike light heels existed only in my wildest dreams before Kirkwood stepped in). These luminous, wax-like heels were the talk of the whole fashion crowd for days after the show.

The first time I went to London, years ago, I bought a Preen dress. I still have it, and it still feels heavenly every time I wear it. So now that the brand has teamed up with Savile Row experts to develop their tailoring, it has simply become sublime. The collection featured structured-but-feminine dresses, lovely and very English floral prints and beautifully tailored trousers and oversized jackets.

Looking at Oscar de la Renta I realized how much the world has changed in the last few decades. Our 2010 concept of glamour and elegance has very little to do with what used to be glamourous (you know, Elizabeth Taylor walking around the airport in fur and jewels, Estee Lauder in her Park Avenue home or Paloma Picasso strolling towards the Ibiza beach wearing an embroidered silk chiffon kaftan). De la Renta, though, still lives in that world, and I find that truly fascinating. He has a reason for it, as well: the ladies he dresses still live in that world. His collection was luxurious, chic, ladylike...flawless.

What can I say about Mulberry? It was nicely put together, original but not too edgy, chic and the style of the clothes matched perfectly the magnificent quality of their bags. The best pieces? lovely tailored yet feminine coats and short cocktail dresses.
There have been some more exciting shows during this NY Fashion Week... I will post about them tomorrow!

Zink!

Here's one of the projects I worked in with Sophie and Pierre a couple of months ago. We made this shot inspired both by classical dance ballerinas and the Studio 54 aesthetics. I think the colours and brightness look really cool in the final version. Anyway, a couple of days ago Sophie told me American glossy Zink Magazine had selected the story for their March issue...So that's great news!
Sorry about not having posted about NY Fashion Week yet. I haven't really had the most ideal of days: someone tried to mug me on the street, the police who were around came to ask me what happened, for a moment I actually thought all my pityful life savings were gone for good... All in all, I had my very unwanted and very unglamourous fifteen minutes of fame. Everything is ok now but the whole story made me lose some precious time. NY Fashion Week post tomorrow, I promise!
Did you have a nicer day than I did?

Bye Bye Baby

NY Fashion Week catwalk reviews tomorrow... Tonight I'm just indulging.
I had the loveliest weekend with Ed; I'm so sad now he's gone back to London.
♥

By the way, I had totally forgotten to talk about it here; but lovely Dyan from Whimsy Being interviewed me for her blog a couple of days ago. You know I don't usually post images of myself, but you can see one, as well as the complete interview, here.