what to know: day two NY fashion week...
Jason Wu
He shot to centre stage after Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses at her husband's presidential inauguration ball. Wu doesn't want to be categorized as making frou-frou princess dresses... and I can't imagine he will be. His collection featured lots of wearable pieces, but with an uptown urban twist: fitted skirts, boxy jackets, and a unique use of colour and texture. While a couple of his evening wear pieces were a bit on the hideous side, overall a real dazzler and quite stunning set against a pink runway.
What else? Paint splattered outerwear, polka dots, mixed patterns, statement neckline necklaces, Irving Penn inspired.
Doo.Ri
Deep colours, feathers, suede, gorgeous prints, plus perfectly tailored and draped fabrics... this is one of my favourites from day two. Style.com said it lacked 'focus' and was 'difficult to engage in'... what?! Did we just see the same thing?! I think it is utterly and entirely gorgeous. It has a clear focus. All the girls share a similar moody but determined attitude, they look like city chicks who are either at work or out afterwards... it is dark, intermixed with bright oranges and iridescent blues. It has a grown up inner city feel with a bit of laid back safari added in - through the shape of military tailoring and soft caramel colours. Oh, I love it... and i adore the jacket pictured over the short draped dress below... uh, can I please get my name down for that now?
Costello Tagliapietra
Inspired by a recent trip to Japan these self-proclaimed math nerds produced an elegantly tailored and oh-so-feminine collection. The use of colour is quite simple but unexpected... with springs popular choices of pinks, and greens being warmed up to fit the Autumn mood. The shapes are so sexy in a an elegant sort of way. Not try hard, or over the top at all... there is something sort of old-school glamour about it all. I was utterly surprised by what the designers looked like when they walked on stage... but must say, their appearance makes the collection even more endearing.
Charlotte Ronson
These are my two favourite looks from the show... I wasn't overly blown away by the rest. Most of the models had a sort of turban-esque contraption wrapped around their head - which I couldn't help think clashed a bit with the long tailored leather and wool coats... it just looked a bit awkward and forced. Overall it wasn't bad and there were a few cool looks but overall it just looked a bit confused as to whether it was a spring or fall collection. The movement between outerwear and gypsy inspired see-through silks was a bit messy.
What else? There were lots of tight pleats, soft velvet, stripes mixed with florals, head scarves, bright oranges, pinks, and blues.
Bensoni
Quite theatrical and bold. I love their strong use of colours, mix of bold prints, and fur accents. I found the looks pictured below particularly inspiring and wish there was more that followed suit in the collection.
Generra
A bit of a love-hate relationship going on here I think. Definitely channeling a younger and more playful vibe than a lot of the other collections... but it felt a bit messy in some parts. They used bright pinks and yellows that looked quite fresh but somehow seriously reminded me of a DKNY spread? I like the mono-chromatic use of colour and the ski inspired jumpers worn with little flouncy skirts. The very supple velvet skirt and jacket pictured below right is by far one of my favourite looks from the show (fingers crossed it filters down to a shop I can afford!). But then they threw in some Latin American-esque samba dancing dresses that looked confused and misplaced... sure the colour fits in with the rest of the collection but the mood just some how didn't. Plus, the menswear was slightly shocking. The models looked completely miserable and all had pointy little hats on that reminded me of that guy from n dubz. Just saying... I can't imagine that is what they were trying to channel there. Anyway, I thought it was alright, and there certainly were some jumpers and dresses I would wear from it, but it didn't seem like New York Fashion Week material...
p.s. I have been suffering from a seriously nasty case of food poisoning the last couple days... hence my bed ridden posts on fashion week. I have (what I think) is a pretty fun giveaway up my sleeve which I will post about as soon as I can get up and put some normal clothes on and get my butt outside.
