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Monique Lhuillier – Spring 2011 Bridal

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Sandy Ramirez

The runway at Monique Lhuillier’s Spring 2011 bridal collection show was framed by white branches that referenced a grove of birch or sycamore trees. A fitting setting, displaying a deep understanding of the mythology of woods. Those patches of pillars of white that shine out in a forest have long been believed to be home to magic and spirits unseen. The 27 looks that shone out on the path that emerged from that thicket of pale wood were perfect for the marriage of dryads or sprites. Lhuillier’s looks ranged from cocktail to classic train, but all of the dresses maintained the air of fantasy that hung around the room. One of the many brilliant things about her as a designer is a talent at creating a delicateness in some of her garments that borders on fragility. The impression of fantastical softness is so strong that it makes the wearer seem dreamlike or almost ethereal. This is spot on for wedding gowns. in which many women want to appear to have descended from the heavens or walked out of a mythical realm. And, what man doesn’t want to marry a goddess? Continue reading “Monique Lhuillier – Spring 2011 Bridal”

10 Designers To Watch In 2011

modaCYCLE recently hosted a showcase party for a group of emerging designers whom we believe showed the most promise during the most recent New York Fashion Week back in September.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by John Pringle and Adrianna Favero

modaCYCLE recently hosted a showcase party for a group of emerging designers whom we believe showed the most promise during the most recent New York Fashion Week back in September. It was a chill vibe affair held in the beautiful Italian furniture showroom Natuzzi Soho (101 Greene Street). Each designer who participated showed three looks throughout the evening. Our intention was to put emerging designers with viable collections in the same room with boutique owners and buyers from retail chains, and it seemed to go quite well. Continue reading “10 Designers To Watch In 2011”

Reem Acra – Bridal Fall 2011 – New York

There were sparkles everywhere, the dresses just sang in the light as they moved.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Adrianna Favero

Master designer Reem Acra, who recently gave a wonderfully inspirational auto-biographical talk at TEDx in Doha, presented a cinema-themed Fall 2011 bridal collection in her Fifth Avenue New York showroom. Each look took the name of a romantic film, though direct visual connections to those films were not often plain. Continue reading “Reem Acra – Bridal Fall 2011 – New York”

L’éclat Design Contest – Round 1

L’éclat is a monthly fashion design contest from modaCYCLE and Johnny Wu Designs. Each month we are giving away two vouchers for free custom manufacturing patterns from master pattern-maker Johnny Wu, valued at $200 each, to an emerging designer in the tri-state area.

Round 1 deadline: midnight on January 28, 2011

L’éclat is a monthly fashion design contest from modaCYCLE and Johnny Wu Designs. Each month we are giving away two vouchers for free custom manufacturing patterns from master pattern-maker Johnny Wu, valued at $200 each, to an emerging designer in the tri-state area. Not only that, but Johnny Wu will spend a few hours personally teaching the winner how to make their own patterns and how to design garments that are easier to mass produce without sacrificing quality.

Johnny Wu Designs is a Full Service Garment Manufacturer located in the fashion district of New York City. They support new and emerging designers to launch and grow their labels by providing precise patterns, high-quality samples, and flexible small production runs.

If you are a fashion designer living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, at least 24 years old, your own label is not yet carried by a major retail chain, and you are otherwise fully qualified under the contest rules…

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upload a video clip to YouTube or Vimeo in which you show us a garment or accessory design you’re working on or that you recently created
in the video, tell us about the fabric, the lining, the stitching, and other construction details, and why that piece represents you as a designer
use the form on the [contest page] to send us a link to the video before midnight on the last Friday of the month
you may only submit one entry per round
follow the contest here on modaCYCLE.com and on the modaCYCLE Facebook Fan Page and the Johnny Wu Designs Facebook Group.

Go to the [contest entry page] now.

Toni Francesc – Spring 2011

One of Mr. Fransesc’s strengths to me has always been his fabric sourcing and creation. He uses the most delicate silks and creates knits that are so precise and fine that they could be mistaken for wovens. With all of that softness though he manages to still create flowing sculptural pieces that are brimming with points of visual interest.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Freda Henry

There are all sorts of beautiful. In the fleeting flow of models on a runway there are many moments of beauty. As your eye travels up and down a model and the garments she is wearing, you also take in the accessories, the hair & make up, and the footwear. The designers aren’t the only artists who are the best of the best displaying their prowess during fashion weeks. The brilliant and vastly underrated Spaniard Toni Francesc had more than enough splendor from all quarters on display in his Spring 2011 Collection. Before I launch into my review of the amazing garments that Mr. Francesc created for spring, I need to pay deserved tribute to the great work that lead makeup artist Jackie Mgido of Mehron cosmetics created for the show. Jackie and her team’s work on the eyes and cheeks of the models was the best I saw all season. As good as the make up and hair was, it was still second fiddle to the Toni Francesc collection paraded down the runway at Lincoln Center. One of Mr. Fransesc’s strengths to me has always been his fabric sourcing and creation. He uses the most delicate silks and creates knits that are so precise and fine that they could be mistaken for wovens. With all of that softness though he manages to still create flowing sculptural pieces that are brimming with points of visual interest. Continue reading “Toni Francesc – Spring 2011”

Buckler – Spring 2011

Tailoring and touches with maturity and moxie, Andrew Buckler always manages to thread the needle between youthful energy and grown-up gravity, and his Spring 2011 collection was no exception.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero

Tailoring and touches with maturity and moxie, Andrew Buckler always manages to thread the needle between youthful energy and grown-up gravity, and his Spring 2011 collection was no exception. The collection was inspired by the period at the end of the highly influential Bauhaus school of art and design. “What we did with the Spring 2011 collection was, we looked at fabrics of the period and at the way people were wearing clothes at that time as well.” Continue reading “Buckler – Spring 2011”

Matthew Ames – Spring 2011

With a minimalist approach to design, it’s very important to not drift into dullness, and Matthew Ames’ Spring 2011 collection stayed intriguing and spellbinding throughout.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Martin Bielecki

When fashion industry people talk about “cuts” they mean exactly what you think they mean and not exactly what you think they mean. Inigo Montoya like, “let me s’plain. No, wait, there is too much. Let me sum up.” Yes it is where and how a designer lays scissor to fabric, but it is also how that cut interacts and is formed and moves on the body parts on which it lays. To cut well is to understand how different fabrics are affected by anatomy and kinetics. Matthew Ames cuts well. In boldest fact, Matthew Ames cuts extraordinarily well. His Spring 2011 collection was primarily silks and linens and he displayed a deep understanding of how those fabrics shape and move on a woman’s body. Mr. Ames’ talents very clearly shone through in his design details and in his ability to balance freedom of movement and structure. In fact in every aspect of the collection there was balance. From cuts to color, the whole collection was stunningly beautiful. Continue reading “Matthew Ames – Spring 2011”

Jonathan Simkhai – Spring 2011

The combinations of clothes and accessories really nailed the spirit Mr. Simkhai was evoking, a woman who is intelligent, free spirited, and sexy.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero

It was very refreshing to wander into the Griffin Restaurant in the Meatpacking District of downtown Manhattan and see that smart is still sexy. Jonathan Simkhai’s Spring 2011 collection was laden with the lovely spirit of the intellectual femme fatale. Think eye glasses and leather skirts. A delicious thought, isn’t it? In fact the collection was replete with contrasts that worked wonderfully together. Think of the girl building looks from both her sexy wardrobe and his college and work wardrobe, and the collection comes into much sharper focus. Mr. Simkhai’s strong editing skills in using just the right amount of “masculine tailoring” kept the collection sexy instead of sloppy. The overall impact was the projection of a woman who is compelling; the type of woman that hijacks your thoughts for awhile. The individual pieces were all strong and imaginative, clever cuts abounded as did eye-catching touches. The leather pieces were particularly heady, sexy yet not overly vampy. And when they were mixed with the garments that echoed traditional “masculine” clothing the impact was undeniable. Continue reading “Jonathan Simkhai – Spring 2011”

Carlos Miele – Spring 2011

This is the way that one encounters curves in nature, never perfect in measure but a harmonious perfection.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Freda Henry

Once you are a commercially successful fashion designer a whole trunk full of rules invisibly drops into place around you. The stores who buy you give you sales reports and they very clearly show you what sells. The temptation to design to fill those slots must be terribly difficult to resist. Pulling against that ton of temptation is the restless nature of creative artists, the desire to be joyfully fresh and boldly innovative each new season. It is the ability to create a collection that both satisfies the designer as an artist and satiates the appetites of buyers that leads to long careers. It is always a joy to see a great designer deal with that “difficulty,” the great ones escape from it as easily as squirrels defeat every bird-feeding countermeasure humans devise. Continue reading “Carlos Miele – Spring 2011”

Rad Hourani – Spring 2011

His collections appear fairly straight forward at first but you can never be fooled by seeming simplicity from great designers, there is invariably more going on in the clothes than you think there is.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero

Austerity, severity, restraint. No, I’m not speaking of the debt crisis or of finance at all. I’m describing Rad Hourani’s Spring 2011 collection. Rad Hourani’s art for Spring was all of those things, but still crackled with creative energy that felt caged by his cuts and colors. The collection was black, white, and gray yet it still felt vibrant. This is all part of the complicated nature of Rad Hourani’s clothing. His collections appear fairly straight forward at first but you can never be fooled by seeming simplicity from great designers, there is invariably more going on in the clothes than you think there is. Continue reading “Rad Hourani – Spring 2011”