Driving light, a crescendo of sound and a raw edge space, set the stage for the Helmut Lang show, in a collection that balanced dark and light with brilliance. From the first look, a sharp shouldered white leather blazer with sleek black jeans and black over the knee boots, the stage was set for looks and details befitting a downtown urban warrior.

The design duo, Nicole and Michael Colovos, in their second runway season, have synthesized what the brand is know for, sharply cut fitted suits, narrow pants and perfectly cuts jackets and coats, and expanding its range with superbly cut leathers, precise dresses and cobweb openwork knits, while maintaining the DNA of the brand.

Helmut Lang Photo: Style.com

Coats and jackets are the designers’ strong suit, case in point; a perfectly cut felt coat, funnel neck muffler, vest, belt and boots, turned out in the downtown essential, black. There are furs and leathers with an edge, a perfect fit for actress Rooney Mara, she of the much nominated film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, one of the best, a superb black asymmetrical shearling jacket worn with second skin over the knee wedge boots.

Helmut Lang Photo: Style.com

This is a collection that goes beyond the original intent of its namesake designer, with dresses in subtle driftwood prints derived from nature, one of the best; bias cut, softly enveloped the body asymmetrically. The designers applied a nice hand to openwork crunchy knits and cobwebby lace giving both a modern edge.

Downtown comes uptown in this collection providing de rigure gear for the brands’ devoted following.

– Tricia Kenney

Impulse

Doo. Ri Photo: Style.com

On an impulse (since I never requested an invite in the first place), I decided to show up at Eyebeam on West 21st, to check out Doo. Ri Chung’s fall collection. But there was nothing at all impulsive about Doo Ri’s well thought out, well designed, and perfectly proportioned fall collection (which according to her show notes, was inspired by the “poetic motion and elegant haunting movement of Butoh”), and one that put her strengths to good use. It was perhaps her best collection in a while.

Doo Ri Photo: Style.com

I had long been a fan of the talented designer (who had once worked under the master, Geoffrey Beene), but thought that in recent years, she oft times employed too many distracting tricks and overstatements on the runway. These took away from the purity of what she does best: her ability to manipulate, drape, and twist fabric and most notably, her beloved jersey with which she has become famous.

Doo Rii Photo: Style.com

Yesterday’s effort, highly textural, a play of masculine and feminine, with some stellar knits, knitted details, strong outerwear, and of course, those slinky jerseys, was restrained yet quite effective. There were no embellishments, the models looked believable and modern. Colors, or should I say sophisticated non-colors like charcoal, ice grey, cream, chocolate, hunter green, ink, plum, brass, and black all benefited from their mainly monotone combinations.

And speaking of ‘impulse’, Doo.Ri is yet another designer following on the heels of Karl Lagerfeld, Giambattista Valli, and others, who have partnered with Macy’s to design a popular priced collection for their Impulse Shop. In fact, the store’s 6th Avenue windows are currently spotlighting this collaboration. While admittedly, she may not be a household name like Karl, she was certainly catapulted into the fashion spotlight when Michelle Obama chose to wear her stunning purple draped jersey gown to a high profile White House official dinner last year.

Jason Wu Photo: firstView.com

Coincidentally, the First Lady was on many of our minds Friday, since another young designer who has clearly benefited from her ‘endorsement’, Jason Wu, presented his strong collection earlier in the day. Suffice it to say that there were many pieces in both Doo.Ri and Jason Wu’s collections that I could imagine Michelle Obama wearing.

Jason Wu photo: firstView.com

‘Strong’ is the operative word here – a study in black with touches of red, with strong shapes and razor sharp tailoring. In fact, this has been a trend so far and while the shows have just begun, it seems that a strong women, (not a shrinking violet) typified by the First Lady, is the designers’ muse this season.

– Marilyn Kirschner

All Grown Up:

In its second season, Douglas Hannant Pink, the younger, hipper, more attractively priced sister label to the designer’s luxury ready-to-wear line, has come of age. The Fall/Winter collection, shown in the intimate, yet appropriately trendy, EZ Studios space, on New York’s west side, consisted of pieces that were polished and chic yet still youthful and fashion forward.

Hannant’s designs breathed new life into retro styles like the shift dress, updated with a bold windowpane print in black and white. A classic coat had an oversized collar and the cable knit sweaters had patterns that were anything but ordinary.

The musical soundtrack for the runway show ranged from Elvis Presley’s Burning Love to Tom Jones’ She’s a Lady and the disparity between these two songs was emblematic of the two types of women that Hannant’s clothing appeared to embrace. One is a hippy rocker with a softer side and the other is a proper lady who has a bit of an edge. The hand-beaded feather shift dress and spicy brass cable knit long cardigan would appeal to the former while the maroon jewel neck zip back dress would be well suited to the latter. Most of the models wore knee socks and all wore chunky platform heals.

Douglas Hannant never fails to add a touch of elegance and glamour to the finale of his shows, and in that respect this collection was no different. The final looks included a black silk chiffon cocktail dress with a silk tiered ruffle bottom, replete with small bows and a black leather shift with a shimmery floral paillette boucle embroidered skirt.

All the pieces in Hannant’s new line were very wearable and it will be interesting to see what next season will bring. In the designer’s own words, “It’s really starting to come together.”

– Rhonda Erb

The Daily Bet by Rhonda Erb

Lots of Love From LUSH

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                    Jason’s ‘Lace’ Wonders

Jason Wu Fall 2011 Collection (All photos Firstview.com)

Jason Wu’s fall collection was, in the words of his run of show, “inspired by the beautiful photos taken by Robert Polidori in his book “Parcours Museologique Revister”, which documented the detailed restoration process of Versailles over a period of 25 years”. Which explains the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of the Chelsea Gallery where his show was held on Friday afternoon. It was all about high contrasts and juxtapositions, imbuing opulence and luxury with a modern vibe.

While the couture like elements, fabrication, dressmaking details, and feminine flights of fancy Mr. Wu has become known for were still in place (gaining him loyal fans like Anna Wintour and Michelle Obama), it was far less precious, ‘ladylike’ (of should I say, First Lady like), and colorful than in the past, and here was far more reliance on razor sharp tailoring and borrowed from the boys’ haberdashery, played out almost entirely in charcoal, black, ivory, navy, and nude with touches of burgundy, gold, silver, and cerise. (FYI, Anna Wintour looked like a caricature of herself in a cognac leather coat with a pale fox fur collar so enormous, it almost obscured her face. No wonder she feels the need for bodyguards).

Gone were the turbans, wide horizontal stripes, and full legged trouser pants from last season. In its place were trim lace trim wool coats and parkas (now fewer than 15 types of lace were shown throughout, and it was really all about lace), fitted wool jackets, wool tuxedo and cigarette pants, sculpted dresses in silk radzmire, and rock star worthy ornately embroidered wool anoraks. There were silk hounds tooth jacquard key hole back dresses with falling leaf lace embroidery, wool degrade and ostrich feather coats, frothy nude and black burn-out feather lace dresses, and some of the best examples of that seemingly simple yet timeless combo: a beautiful blouse and a ‘simple’ black skirt, which for Jason translates into a long sleeved nude silk chiffon blouse with black lace overlay, paired with a short black silk radzmire sculpted skirt with lace trim, and a nude feather lace blouse embroidered with Swarovski elements, which was shown with a floor length black lace evening skirt.

A gold lace paillette embroidered gown which was cut with the ease and simplicity of a tee shirt (but was not lacking in dramatic impact), and a cerise pink silk chiffon strapless gown with gold leaf embroidery had Michelle Obama’s name all over them. Actually, it’s easy to imagine the First Lady wearing many of Jason’s pieces, including the frothy ostrich feather lace dresses, to high profile soirees in the coming months.

Doo.Ri’s ‘Draped’ Wonders

Doo. Ri Fall 2011 Collection Photos: Fashionologie.com

I loved Doo. Ri’s inventive and highly personal run of show which read like a behind the scenes, intimate documentation of the thought process and planning that went into her fall collection, complete with sketches and rendered in her own scribbled handwriting. There were notations of inspirations (the work of Beverly Semmes), favorite fabrications (cashmere/wool jersey, double faced wool, angora, cashmere knit, nylons, viscose, leather, fox fur, silk chiffon); beloved silhouettes (long and fluid, elongated proportions), tailoring, blazers, oversized jerseys and outwear, cut away tops, linear structure, movement; and the use of the phrase, “city nomadic” (hey- isn’t that what Yeohlee called her collection several years ago? A collection that eventually became a museum installation? Actually, Yeohlee called it Urban Nomad). I always love that phrase because it sums up what longtime city dwellers always need and on the lookout for: clothing that not only looks good but truly functions.

Unfortunately, at times, Doo.Ri’s signature draping (and of course, what she is known for), seemed to get the better of her and the problem with much of the line, was that there was just too much fabrication, and at times, even the lithe tall models had their hemlines dragging on the floor of the runway. Not the most practical thing for pounding the pavement, getting in and out of cabs, or trekking up and down the stairs in the subway. And interestingly, Doo.Ri herself is quite petite and her own personal wardrobe staples are far more lean, pared down, and body conscious. That’s not to say there were not some beautifully cut pieces, played out in a tonally neutral color palette (from head to toe including the boots): jersey dresses with draped hems; oversized mohair sweaters and wool cable sweaters; a shirttail leather and wool jacket cut like a fencer’s jacket; a midnight double face coat with leather binding worn over a charcoal seamed jumpsuit and another, with a draped back, paired with satin straight pants; a fox fur and goat hair jersey jacket worn with lean pants; a tailored vest with leather piping over a black draped jersey gowns; and especially the finale comprised of 4 jersey gowns with macramé details (the dark blue asymmetrically draped number with a macramé embroidered sleeve especially stood out.)

FYI, both Jason Wu and Doo.Ri held their shows in the same far west Chelsea area, known for it’s art galleries. It’s an area used by many designers because the spaces are interestingly raw and large. That said, I don’t think there is any place in New York as difficult to get back and forth from, and it’s one of the hardest places to find a cab, especially on a freezing cold day in February. It’s great if you have a town car or limo at your disposal, but yesterday afternoon, I almost felt stranded, standing with dozens of other show goers, all of us trying to hail a cab, and was unable to. I eventually gave up and had lunch instead.

– Marilyn Kirschner

The Daily Bet by Rhonda Erb

Milly Minis by Michelle Smith

Milly designer, Michelle Smith, has designed a new line of dresses and coats that is sure to create a new generation of Milly fans. Milly Minis is a colorful collection of clothing with classic Milly styling for girls ages 2 to 7. Dresses range in price from $150 to $195 and coats range from $225 to $245. It just goes to show that you are never too young to be fashionably chic.

Available at: http://www.millyny.com/, Bergdorf Goodman, and specialty stores nationwide

Skype

The post New York Fashion Week Notes: Day 2 appeared first on lookonline.

So well respected and beloved by the fashion community was Alexander McQueen (and deservedly so), it took two editors (Cathy Horyn and Eric Wilson) to write his obit for The New York Times. But it was the cover of Friday’s WWD, featuring a photo of the late designer at the opening of his first boutique in London in 1999, with the words, “A True Master”, that said it all. And the 8 pages inside, commemorating his life, were beautifully done and spoke volumes. Included were comments and quotes from some of the world’s most influential fashion figures. Among them: “It’s a loss for the fashion industry. His story was one of success and talent, but that may not be enough to keep you alive”, Karl Lagerfeld; He had that ability to not only create beyond the limits, but also keep it accessible. He was able to do both, to dream the creative dream and deliver a product that you could embrace, and that is very unique, Donna Karan; “In a world where every man and his dog is a designer, Alexander McQueen was the real deal”, Philip Treacy.

Yes, it’s true that fashion designers are seemingly a dime a dozen, and few will ever be able to claim the talent, genius, and success that McQueen had in spades. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole new hopeful generation holding onto their dreams. Ten young designers, contestants on Project Runway, Jay Nicolas Sario, Janeane Marie Ceccanti, Jonathan Peters, Anthony Williams, Jesse LeNoir, Seth Aaron Henderson, Emilio Sosa, Mila Hermanovski, Ben Chmura and Amy Sarab, were given an opportunity to strut some of their stuff before the fashion cognoscenti at Friday morning’s Project Runway show held at the Tent in Bryant Park. (Meanwhile, so much for short shows; this one seemed to go on and on and on, but remember, there were 10 finalists involved).

Before the show began, judges Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Michael Kors (along with Guest Judge Faith Hill) took to the stage. Heidi, looking amazing in a short ‘bondage’ dress just a little while after the birth of her new baby (don’t you hate her?) served as mistress of ceremonies and told assembled crowd that this has been an “amazing” season in terms of talent, adding, “This will be a surprise. We don’t know which the three finalists are”. While Jay Nicolas Sario (who pronounced “I found who I am as a fashion designer”) seems to have the edge right now, there were several who stood out from the crowd. I was impressed by Jonathan Peters (his collection, called ‘Aviary’ is a “study in volume and a study in sexy and birds that fly”), Jessie LeNoir (who was inspired by “crime novels and film noir”), Seth Aaron Henderson, who cited “Russian military” as his inspiration), Mila Hermanovski (inspired by “shadows”) and Amy Sarab (whose focus is on “digital photography” and “pleating”).

It ‘Pays’ to be Christian

Christian Siriano showed a crowd pleasing grown up fall 2010 collection, rendered in a dark sophisticated color palette (mainly black and navy enlivened with shots of plum and fuchsia) which was inspired by the “1960’s European women – particularly Parisian women – who got dressed every day.” From the killer peplum jackets (like the black leather zip front that opened the show, shown with a narrow knee length skirt and another in embossed crocodile paired with a bow blouse and trousers), to the cocktail dresses and gowns (metallic wool, metallic chiffon, satin faced organza, two tone layered silk chiffon). In addition to the unapologetically lady like handbags, the most important accessories were the shoes, “small works of art” inspired by French antique furniture from the 18th and 19th century. And they were designed by Christian for Payless.

Doo Ri gets ‘stoned’



When Doo Ri Chung, who showed at Eyebeam Gallery, didn’t drape (blazers, halter tops, printed shifts, suede jersey dresses, etc.), she pleated. And it seems she ‘got stoned’ this season. By that I mean that she embellished everything from leggings, mini tank dresses, and furs, with oversized crystals, and sequins. Sometimes they appeared in tonal shades of black or blue, or in some instances, they were multi-colored and highly contrasting. There was a subtle military theme owing to the reliance on a color palette of navy, lapis, graphite (punched with geranium and red), the use of skinny ‘military’ pants with buckles and snaps down the side, and the trench details, not surprising since in addition to draping, the award winning designer has become known for her trench coats (there was a good looking navy stretch trench shirt dress with draped hem and a lapis trench with pleats).

What’s the ‘use’?

By the way, speaking of military, I must say I happen to adore all the great looking, streetwise, functional/utilitarian/military pieces available out there. They are not only really cool looking but are especially practical for fast paced urban living what with all the pockets, etc. that almost negate the need to carry a bag (well almost- ‘think’ Bonnie Cashin). That said, on Thursday, I was wearing an outfit that had 10 working pockets: four on my parka, four on my shirt jacket and two on my pants. Yet, I managed to lose my house keys! So much for a ‘pocket of miracles’.

-Marilyn Kirschner

Everybody Dance! Carlos Miele’s Fall/Winter Carnival

Carlos Miele provided the perfect antidote to the snowy weather that has plagued Mercedes Benz Fashion Week this season. His Fall/Winter 2010 Fashion Show, which was held in the Promenade at Bryant Park on Monday morning, had a carnival like atmosphere that was due in part to the lively music of Max de Castro. Models strutted to the upbeat soundtrack while A-listers, including French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld, photographer Nigel Barker, and model Maggie Rizer, looked on.

The Brazilian designer, whose celebrity clients include Beyonce and Eva Longoria Parker, sent one colorful look after another down the runway, beginning with a clingy, fuchsia, red and violet mini-dress worn by French beauty Constance Jablonski. This was followed by several form-fitting looks, both long and short, in vivid, graphic prints. Also in the mix were a selection of neutral colored fur jackets and capelets and an occasional pair of high-waisted pants or slim, denim jeans.

Some of the more striking pieces of Miele’s collection were an electric blue cocktail mini with black trim and an equally vibrant, blue, one shoulder gown. There was also an assortment of intricately embellished black dresses, including a particularly eye catching one with black sequins.

In spite of the attention grabbing looks that Carlos Miele created for this line, his models wore makeup that was subdued and understated. Makeup artist Gato of Maybelline Spain gave their faces a natural looking golden glow that complemented Miele’s lively clothes.

-Rhonda Erb

The Daily Bet

Angel From Thierry Mugler

A heavenly fragrance makes the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for that special person in your life. For her: Angel, the classic sensual scent from Thierry Mugler, available in a translucent glass star. For him: Thierry Mugler’s woody A*Men fragrance, packaged in a masculine metal flask.

Angel Eau de Parfum, .8 fl. Oz., $75.00, A*Men, 3.4 fl. Oz., $107.00
Available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s

-Rhonda Erb

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