story by Kerry Kong
photos by Adrianna Favero
Fashion + ice = Elise Øverland’s fall 2011. Her show has always been fun and entertaining, and, this time, she took a step further by taking her creativity to the ice rink at the Standard Hotel. This show was not like any other fashion show this season. It was a fashion performance – an igloo as the backdrop, her models stood still in heels on the ice rink while figure skaters from the Ice Theater of New York skated around and in-between them in her designs.
The clothes were madly colorful and bright. In a way, they could look kind of theatrical, but she managed to keep them very elegant and wearable. She chose to use textiles like silk, fur, feathers, and plastic, and the clothes were all very innovatively-designed and well-tailored. One piece that stood out was a grassy coat with shiny plasticky wings on the waist, well-fit and nicely-structured. Another chic look was a bright orange silk dress, which was also in one of the figure skaters. There was also this ostrich-looking feather skirt that would certainly keep the skater warm and happy even in this icy ice rink.
Her collection’s futuristic feel juxtaposed with the ice rink, and together they seem kind of strange but surreal in a way. Yet, the surrealist thing of the night was seeing world-class figure skater Johnny Weir skating in Øverland’s design, a long silver robe trimmed in black fur, which was Øverland’s favorite of this season. Elise Øverland totally gave us a show like no others, and her collection? Definitely has become cooler and cooler each season.
