The current political and social situation is deeply affecting fashion, not only in terms of business but also in terms of creativity. For an alternative to the pervading sense of anxiety, designers Eli Azran and David Rimokh said that, for their fall collection, they looked to the good times when girls used to have fun. In their relaxed, ideal world, women are rock ‘n’ roll. They sport silver suits and casually layer a chubby fox fur coat over denim overalls, as well as over patent-leather slouchy pants matched with a striped sweater. The casual, youthful collection also included a sweatshirt that incorporated a corset, as well as a metallic bomber jacket worn with striped denim pants.
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The Club Monaco team sure knows how to make a big deal of a rather basic fashion event. In this case, it was to celebrate Caroline Belhumeur’s spring collection for the retailer, on sale now. Kleig lights on the sidewalk, its Fifth Avenue flagship decorated with floor-to-ceiling trees and flowers, elaborate catering with an assortment of wines and a slew of models wearing these newest looks. And all the hoopla was rewarded with a packed crowd of photographers and young bloggers with mobiles held high.
“A documentary I saw that followed the way music travels inspired this collection,” said the designer, who cited England, Spain and Romania as inspirations. The gypsy spirit was evident in lots of long, tiered skirts, peasant blouses and even in a structured pantsuit, shown in a floral pattern that came from a Romanian scarf print. “I like to have sculptural shapes to offset the gypsies,” said Belhumeur. “It adds an urban edge; and that’s where we are, after all.”
The men’s wear was designed to complement the women’s collection and, as a result, featured masculine takes on the floral patterns so prevalent in the feminine offering. The nine men’s looks, according to Matthew Millward, vice president of
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“Gypsy Grunge” was the inspiration behind Nicole Miller’s fall lineup, as she worked tarot cards, constellations, dragons and mystical symbol motifs on a range of cool bomber jackets and embellished dresses. Backstage, Miller said this collection is for “my downtown girl who went to get her fortune read by a tarot-card reader, and then went out on the town and ended up getting Chinese food.”
She must have had a good fortune. The collection was youthful and fun as Miller mixed quirky printed dresses and plaid boyfriend shirts. Key looks included a plaid asymmetric bomber dress with an occult symbol shirt, a floral jacquard high-low dress worn over a gray shirt and a plaid shirt tied at the waist, a dragon-embroidered bomber over a star-and-floral dress and a reefer coat with patches over a bandana-embellished jogger.
Although some of the prints and embellishments leaned a little kitsch — such as a fortune cookie print — overall, it was a fun and lively show.
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For fall, Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia explored the intersection of British and Indian culture under the British Raj era of 1858 to 1947.
The label’s cocktail and evening gowns took an opulent turn this season, from the show’s opening look — a golden taffeta coat dress nipped at the waist and splashed with metallic thread work — to the architectural silk mikado gowns that followed, some decorated with Swarovski crystal bugs.
Most looks featured long blouson sleeves, with a few plunging necklines and sheer accents revealing glimpses of skin. If some styles felt slightly overwrought — as in a ruffled, embellished taffeta skirt worn with a ceremonial headpiece — a few dresses featuring English rose prints and embroidery captured a more delicate sense of romance and femininity.
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Jason Wu was feeling a tinge sentimental for fall. To mark the 10th anniversary of his collection, he brought his runway back to a place that means something to him, the St. Regis Hotel, a bastion of classic, enduring elegance, where he had one of his first “big” shows in 2010. “It’s very symbolic to me,” he said backstage before the show, caught alone in a moment of calm, wearing a black hoodie and watching a live video feed of his guests pouring into the gilded ballrooms.
He clearly felt comfortable there, and the collection looked right at home in the setting, too. In fact, to reflect on 10 years of Wu and assess where he is in his career now, he’s arrived at a place of confidence and equilibrium in his work and momentum in his business. (His soon-to-launch fragrance scented the air.) The clothes made this point in a lovely way. The goal wasn’t to shock or razzle-dazzle, but wow with grace and glamour.
Split 50-50 between daywear and cocktail, the show opened with a black dotted jacquard top, cut a bit boxy, and matching pants, and made its way through modernized men’s wear — a deconstructed plaid shell over a matching
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Public School is back in session — during fashion week, that is. On Sunday, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne will return to the calendar from a high-profile hiatus during which they showed off-season, in deference to their second job.
In May 2015, the designers were famously enlisted by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to head up design at DKNY. Heirs to Donna Karan and Jane Chung, the partners were recruited on the strength of the uber cool brand they launched with men’s wear in 2008, all street-smart, aspirational New York attitude. Having grown up as style-savvy kids in New York, they felt a certain affinity for DKNY. As co-creative directors, they would shepherd the brand into a new era of relevance while soaking up knowledge from one of the world’s great luxury groups that they could apply to their own, still nascent business.
We’ve all heard of the best-laid plans. Little more than a year after Osborne and Chow arrived at DKNY, G-III’s Morris Goldfarb bought Donna Karan International from LVMH in a move that took everyone by surprise, including the designers. Not surprisingly, G-III’s plans for DKNY were very different from those of LVMH, and in December the designers left company.
The
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FLYING SOLO: Like President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump is bombarded by opinions — spoken, shouted, insinuated and whispered — but her independent streak and designer wardrobe remain. En route to Palm Beach Friday afternoon with her husband and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and his wife Akie, FLOTUS boarded Air Force One wearing white wide-legged Michael Kors pants, a black button-front blouse and a black wool coat.
Earlier in the day, the First Lady, who spends the weekdays in Manhattan so that her son Barron can attend school, arrived in Washington, D.C., in time to greet the Abes. But Japan’s First Lady was on her own, visiting Gallaudet University and later in the day attending a National Cherry Blossom Festival committee meeting at the Japanese Embassy, according to a CNN report. It is more customary for First Ladies to keep the wives of visiting dignitaries company during their visits. But as many American voters and international observers can attest to, the Trump White House is not exactly predictable.
Case in point: the first couple’s wining-and-dining weekend plans for the Abes will be centered at Mar-a-Lago. Before the President and Japan’s Prime Minister tee off for a round of golf on Saturday, the first couple was
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“I was anxious to talk rather than write a couple of quick answers.”
So said Marc Jacobs earlier this week regarding a request for his input for a piece on “New York in Transition.”
Jacobs is as stalwart a creator as there is in fashion, and as such, was unlikely to take lightly questions along the lines of, “What’s the point of the show?” At this moment of individual and communal reevaluation of “The Collections” Goliath, he is both contemplative and proactive, a joint condition he described in some detail.
He started the conversation with a premise not unlike an academic thesis. “The show is an expression of a thought or an idea about clothes, about a spirit, about a mood. It’s not a presentation of showroom clothes,” he said.
Twenty or so minutes later, he’d touched on his design process, Prince, theater etiquette, a stunning Chanel couture dress (and the girl who wore it), as well as his primary theme — a designer’s right to control the circumstances in which his audience experiences his show.
Jacobs’ Spring 2009 show.
Peter Foley/EPA/REX/Shutterstock
Jacobs views the runway as a conduit for communication beyond merely a show of what will be on the racks next season. “It’s an esoteric
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There was no shortage of models at Jason Wu’s 10th anniversary runway show at the St. Regis Hotel on Friday evening. In addition to the lineup of ladies donning his latest collection on the runway, Amber Valletta, Adriana Lima, Constance Jablonski, Diane Kruger, Emily Ratajkowski and Liu Wen showed up to show their support for the designer from the front row.
“I shot [Wu’s] campaign a few years ago, and we developed a friendship,” explained Lima, clad in a hot pink satiny gown and black leather jacket, which she later shed, leading to some oohing and aahing from the photographer pit. “I wanted to be here to support and celebrate his 10th anniversary, watching from the other side.” The other side being, of course, watching the runway, not walking it. “You know, I really respect the girls, especially today after the crazy blizzard, to be here,” she added. “It’s not an easy life, you know; they work very hard, so I really appreciate them.”
“Since I first started modeling, Jason was really supportive of me,” said Wen, who appears on the April cover of American Vogue alongside Ashley Graham. “This is my fourth time sitting front row to watch the show. Today
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