New York Fashion Week – Spring 2013! A Look At Collections & Designers (I)…
Another Summer reaches the end and before we know it here we are… loving the early September if not for its welcoming chill then for its glorious Fashion Weeks. Yes ladies, Autumn is here so the runways will be gracing us with the 2013 Spring collections. And it all starts in New York City!
Crowds of editors, fashionistas, journalists, photographers, bloggers and all la creme de la creme de fashion world was making quite an entrance at this fashion week. From funky shoes to wild prints, caps, hats, jewellery, old expensive T-shirts, new-not-yet -on-the-market-to-die-for-items, crazy outfits, expensive designs worn with looseness and nonchalance, but with a held breath to be captured by the flashes and eyes of all the who’s whos of the fashion word – oh... New York streets had it all. Sexy. Fashion Forward. Desperate. Too much. Too thin. Too fun. People cry to go there so I guess once you put you foot down in front of a show… you want to make it big and be remembered…
If last season’s Spring/Summer collections were loaded on prints and colors that hurt the eye and made us all fashion lovers’ mouths melt… well, 2013 Spring will be all about clean colors, simplicity, nudes, and whites (and black as well… yes in spring) sprinkled with bits of color here and there and some rather fluid, geometric prints. Designers played more with the textures this year and with a mix and match of all materials and shapes. Hence the load on cut-outs at Alexander Wang or the cut-out-sleeve or rather cape meets jacket from Altuzarra. To me it seemed a bit serious (good serious) clean, structured and gave me quite a retro vibe. Call it a future retro. A bit of 50s or 70s here and there. Or if we were to look at the shoes… knee high sandals. Yes you read it right… Greek Queen meets Kim Kardashian (again… in a good way).
Alexander Wang’s collection was precise & focused with predominant cut-outs held together by an invisible fish-line. Used colors stayed in the safe zone as there was so much play with shapes and textures. So we witness quite a lot of black, white, nude, silver all minimalistic, a bit oversized & sporty. To be honest with you for me this collection was not love at 1st sight, but rather it grew on me. Much like one of the models – Liberty Ross (yes the wife Kristen Stewart screwed over) – grew on some people after the big Hollywood scandal. Anyway… though not blown over by Mr. Wang’s collection I did crave for that absolutely amazing outfit worn by Jourdan Dunn:black snake textured skirt & knitted cut-out top! Fabulous.
‘After last season’s austerity I wanted to pull garments apart and experiment with volumes’ – Alexander Wang on 2013 S/S Collection.
The front row from Altuzarra was in awe at the ingenious coat/cape invention. Dare we say how thankful we are… after all, ‘it’s how editors wear their coats’. And the collection carries on on this chic work wear feel... front huge pockets, shirts, long knee-high sandals, clean elegant, fresh & classic colors. It’s a very good representation of a chic yet simply sophisticated worker with cool pockets, hot shoes & nonchalant coat. Some outfits had Oriental feel to them and the evening wear was exquisitely adorned with heavy fringes in gold and rich textures and colors. Still thinking about that evening black jumpsuit with gold fringes...
BCBG Max Azria was ‘Very Cosmo‘ as Joanna Coles of Cosmopolitan stated. High slits, sheer materials, embroidery, leather everywhere and the Harness! Should have been called Harness Reinvented if you ask me. Oh, it didn’t look bad at all… just too much, but that’s what you do when you try to make a statement. Right? So whether it were evening gowns like that exquisite coral/orange one with a sheer top and black belt, or whether it was a simple top, dress or shirt the harness was there too. Don’t let loose on anything except loose dresses that took me back to Oriental times or resembled a 70s rich Queen. Loved the big stiff laptop case bags, the mix and match of textures & the thick ankle straps of sandals.
Carolina Herrera ‘wanted to work with proportion this season, something incredibly light and soft‘ so yes we do see a lot of organza, tulle, chiffon in all day and evening wear. Good collection. Too bad it wasn’t all evening column gowns that we like and are used to see. And apparently so is Mrs. Hererra. She did try something different following the same toned down colors & retro vibe this season seems to evolve around. The mini flirty school-girl skirts paired with buttoned up shirts & blazers were fantastic. Also great play of hem – not long, not tea-lenght, rather something in between. The orange fluid dress with the sheer upper part took my breath away & so did the short sleeved sweater belted in thin blue & paired with a tea-length skirt.
‘Some fairy tales end with the girl marrying the prince… some start there’ was the quote at the top of the programme notes in Diane Von Furstenberg show. One of the best collections this season Diane proves that one’s life is a continuous & successful source of inspiration. It was colorful, confident, packed with pearls, color blocking, caftans, all dresses were paired with narrow cut trousers. Again Oriental meets urban. Harem yet with a simplicity you hardly ever see anymore. Though colorful there wasn’t a hurt my eye type of display, rather well chosen and mixed blues & reds splendidly paired with whites or blacks. It was as if I was watching beautiful rich socialites or business women in downtown Manhattan.
Donna Karan was ‘50s inspired with fitted tops and full bottom dresses. She tried to showcase a simple classic collection of dusted colors, austere fashion yet elegant and fluid at some point. Though not my cup of tea it was worth keeping an eye on at least for the name behind it if not for quotes on the notes: ‘The awe of coming in the city’.
J. Crew took us to a secret garden, made us lay on the grass and get bitten by all the bugs and insects who live there… and who never left our clothes since. Yes it’s an exquisite fauna & insect inspired collection that was itself inspired from the designer’s collection of Time-Life nature books that he stumbled upon when visiting his parents. ‘The photography was amazing. All these pictures of insects and flowers and trees that were super saturated and just really beautiful. It was like the original Instagram‘. A collection painted in pinks, yellows, greens with the designer’s trademark: pajama tops & shiny trousers. Only this season they had an elastic waist to emphasize the laid back tone that awaits for us this spring.