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“Werewolf heads with crystals coming out of them, mirrors, and my love for rocks and crystals is my inspiration,” described the designer backstage before the show.
story by Ashley Roberts
photos by Ned & Aya Rosen
Strongly influenced by David Altman, Mandy Coon‘s Spring 2012 collection is charged by the sculptor’s mixture of textures of beautiful but unsettling weird things. Continue reading “Mandy Coon – Spring 2012 Review – A Geometric Romance”
Boston-based designer Jackie Fraser Swan has a beautiful collection that includes two cute as a button daughters and a large handsome husband; her debut collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week was a strong showing as well. She displayed not only a solid design sense but a mature understanding of how to allow the wearer of her creations to make an impact without being garish. The idea of dressing the counter culture rebel has been well explored and experimented in so it can be difficult to create something novel. Mrs. Fraser Swan succeed in her attempt for the most part primarily because she let her subtle detailing and interesting fabric combinations do the work for her.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
Boston-based designer Jackie Fraser Swan has a beautiful collection that includes two cute as a button daughters and a large handsome husband; her debut collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week under the label Emerson was a strong showing as well. She displayed not only a solid design sense but a mature understanding of how to allow the wearer of her creations to make an impact without being garish. The idea of dressing the counter culture rebel has been well explored and experimented in so it can be difficult to create something novel. Mrs. Fraser Swan succeed in her attempt for the most part primarily because she let her subtle detailing and interesting fabric combinations do the work for her. Continue reading “Emerson – Spring 2012 Review – Whisper, Don’t Shout”
There are runway shows in fashion that turn into rare and historic moments in the life of a house or designer. An expectation of what you are about to see at any given show is created by past collections and market reaction. If a designer builds a growing business on a particular signature style over many seasons then you can reasonably expect that, although there will be refinement and occasional experiments, you will get season from season mostly what you have come to know. All rational and reasonable and perfectly proper. But… designers are artists, and artists can revolt against themselves and expectations, exploding suddenly in a bold new direction…
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
editing assistant Sierra Baskind
There are runway shows in fashion that turn into rare and historic moments in the life of a house or designer. An expectation of what you are about to see at any given show is created by past collections and market reaction. If a designer builds a growing business on a particular signature style over many seasons then you can reasonably expect that, although there will be refinement and occasional experiments, you will get season from season mostly what you have come to know. All rational and reasonable and perfectly proper. But… designers are artists, and artists can revolt against themselves and expectations, exploding suddenly in a bold new direction. Monique Lhuillier did just that with her unrestrained new Spring Summer 2012 collection. In a radical reinvention, the looks that strutted down the runway were dynamic, sexy, and possessed a swagger not previously seen in her demure, elegant, and floral works of the past. Her talent, creativity and intricacy were not replaced, rather they were unleashed in this brave new expression. Continue reading “Monique Lhuillier – Spring 2012 Review – Making Her Move”
Brother & sister Nicholas and Chris Kunz, of the New York based label Nicholas K, actually began their journey to the catwalks of New York in the arid air of Tuscon, Arizona. The loose cuts and fine and flowing layers seem a natural outgrowth of life in the heat.This season’s collection continued the growth of this impressive and under-recognized label. Ably helmed with Nicholas as designer and Chris as the business manager, the label is poised for bigger and better things.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
Brother & sister Nicholas and Chris Kunz, of the New York based label Nicholas K, actually began their journey to the catwalks of New York in the arid air of Tuscon, Arizona. The loose cuts and fine and flowing layers seem a natural outgrowth of life in the heat.This season’s collection continued the growth of this impressive and under-recognized label. Ably helmed with Nicholas as designer and Chris as the business manager, the label is poised for bigger and better things. Continue reading “Nicholas K – Spring 2012 Review – Leather Nomad Chic”
Vivienne Tam’s work is complex, subtle, and striking. She will use prints with fringe and embossed edges and it doesn’t feel busy. It’s a remarkable feat that she performs season after season. Her Spring 2012 collection was inspired by the 1970s, and it shows in prints and palette. Pinks, oranges and blues mixed with blacks, whites and tie dyes for a very tranquil feel. There were many 70s tailoring touches which also reinforced the mood. Side slit pockets and thin yokes mixed with bell bottoms, done in a fresh way not a simple copy, embroidered bands, and silk wide and long bow tie collars that hung to the navel, all were drawn from the 1970s and updated with a definitive “Tam touch”.
View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Peter Cameron Dominkovits
Vivienne Tam‘s work is complex, subtle, and striking. She will use prints with fringe and embossed edges and it doesn’t feel busy. It’s a remarkable feat that she performs season after season. Her Spring 2012 collection was inspired by the 1970s, and it shows in prints and palette. Pinks, oranges and blues mixed with blacks, whites and tie dyes for a very tranquil feel. There were many 70s tailoring touches which also reinforced the mood. Side slit pockets and thin yokes mixed with bell bottoms, done in a fresh way not a simple copy, embroidered bands, and silk wide and long bow tie collars that hung to the navel, all were drawn from the 1970s and updated with a definitive “Tam touch”. Continue reading “Vivienne Tam – Spring 2012 Review”
Antonoff left no question unanswered when it came to her inspiration of Minnie Mouse fused with Wednesday Addams. The two may be completely polar, but the designer managed to make them completely covalent with polka dot rompers, maxi fruit cup print dresses and see-thru chiffon blouses. Thick eyebrows, glum faces, and pigtails complimented her pieces as the models stared into the souls of onlookers. Bold. Enchanting. Utterly haunting.
View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
story by Landon Peoples
photos by Aya & Ned Rosen
When asked to describe a typical night in the Antonoff Manor, her Spring 2012 collection, ready-to-wear designer Rachel Antonoff easily exclaimed, “well, they’re getting ready to murder off their pets and they’re preparing their pet cemetery. I think they’re being really creepy in there.” How’s that for innocent? Antonoff left no question unanswered when it came to her inspiration of Minnie Mouse fused with Wednesday Addams. The two may be completely polar, but the designer managed to make them completely covalent with polka dot rompers, maxi fruit cup print dresses and see-thru chiffon blouses. Thick eyebrows, glum faces, and pigtails complimented her pieces as the models stared into the souls of onlookers. Bold. Enchanting. Utterly haunting. Continue reading “Rachel Antonoff – Spring 2012 Review – Wednesday Addams Lives!”
Mackage designers Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan love structure and that ardour has served them well as the brand has expanded strongly and successfully into ready-to-wear over the past few seasons. The lighter fabrics and looser fits of a wardrobe for spring and summer can pose a strong challenge to that type of designer, especially when you have a background in designing outerwear which tends to be very constructed. Striking the balance between the needs of a warm weather wardrobe and a designer’s desire to dictate how fabric moves can be tricky, Elfassy and Dahan haven’t done much of this before, so the Spring 2012 collection was very interesting to see.
View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
Mackage designers Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan love structure and that ardour has served them well as the brand has expanded strongly and successfully into ready-to-wear over the past few seasons. The lighter fabrics and looser fits of a wardrobe for spring and summer can pose a strong challenge to that type of designer, especially when you have a background in designing outerwear which tends to be very constructed. Striking the balance between the needs of a warm weather wardrobe and a designer’s desire to dictate how fabric moves can be tricky, Elfassy and Dahan haven’t done much of this before, so the Spring 2012 collection was very interesting to see for long-time admirers.
Continue reading “Mackage – Spring 2012 Review – Softened For Spring”
If the fact that 90 percent of her pieces are convertible, affordable, and completely innovative isn’t convincing enough to dub this Polish designer a tailoring genius, maybe the fact that she combines chiffon with horsehair will put any confused resistance to rest. Karolina Zmarlak’s Spring 2012 collection is a look into her past, turning memories into clothing with the use of horsehair, structural jackets, and ethereal tunics. The creation of this collection served as an outlet for the designer to release all of the pent up creativity she couldn’t otherwise put to the drawing board during her childhood.
story by Landon Peoples
photos by Aeric Meredith-Goujon
See the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
If the fact that 90 percent of her pieces are convertible, affordable, and completely innovative isn’t convincing enough to dub this Polish designer a tailoring genius, maybe the fact that she combines chiffon with horsehair will put any confused resistance to rest. Karolina Zmarlak’s Spring 2012 collection is a look into her past, turning memories into clothing with the use of horsehair, structural jackets, and ethereal tunics. The creation of this collection served as an outlet for the designer to release all of the pent up creativity she couldn’t otherwise put to the drawing board during her childhood. Continue reading “Karolina Zmarlak – Spring 2012 Review – Drawing From Source”
This new season at Odilon is a fair departure from fall. Taking off from dark colors and draping coats lands fresh whites and strips of sunny yellow. Suitable given Canadian designer Stacey Clark’s, “Finally embracing living in the L.A. sunshine.” Also bathed in grassy green and deep sea blues, Odilon’s Spring 2012 collection was inspired by 90’s Venice Beach, skate shirts (Ms. Clark has a white skateboard herself, which was waiting backstage), and the musical likes of Courtney Love, Kim Gordon, Kurt Cobain and Pavement.
story by Dana Varon
photos by Ned and Aya Rosen
View the full collection in our Photo Gallery.
This new season at Odilon is a fair departure from fall. Taking off from dark colors and draping coats lands fresh whites and strips of sunny yellow. Suitable given Canadian designer Stacey Clark’s, “finally embracing living in the L.A. sunshine.” Also bathed in grassy green and deep sea blues, Odilon’s Spring 2012 collection was inspired by 90’s Venice Beach, skate shirts (Ms. Clark has a white skateboard herself, which was waiting backstage), and the musical likes of Courtney Love, Kim Gordon, Kurt Cobain and Pavement. Continue reading “Odilon by Stacey Clark – Spring 2012 Review – Refined but Rad”
Ben and Lee Copperwheat do not believe in wallflowers or in clothes that pander to the faint of heart. Even the most cursory glance at their line can tell you that much about their design style. This new collection is a bit of a turning point for the both the brand and its designers.
story and photography by Adrianna Favero
graphic design by Aya Rosen
print designs by Ben Copperwheat
hair and makeup by Kristy Strate
stylist Soukena Roussi
styling assistant Ashley Roberts
models are Lawrence Annunziata (Identities) and Caesar Stoval (RED)
Ben and Lee Copperwheat do not believe in wallflowers or in clothes that pander to the faint of heart. Even the most cursory glance at their line can tell you that much about their design style. This new collection is a bit of a turning point for the both the brand and its designers. After two seasons of energetic and challenging designs, that while captivating seemed to mystify buyers, the duo decided to follow the torrent of advice to produce a more market-friendly collection for Fall 2011. Unfortunately, this paradigm shift failed to yield any real results and deepen their market penetration. And so, for Spring 2012 these two brave Englishmen are tossing out the rules entirely and doing things their way. Continue reading “Special Preview – Copperwheat Spring 2012 Collection”
