fall 2011 – Page 6

Victor de Souza – Fall 2011

Consummate perfectionist Victor de Souza was still sewing things onto garments as the girls got dressed backstage at his Fall 2011 show, but what came down the runway was finished and refined. His tailoring skill with wool and silks was more highly evident than in any previous collection.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Adrianna Favero

Consummate perfectionist Victor de Souza (one of modaCYCLE’s 10 Designers To Watch in 2011) was still sewing things onto garments as the girls got dressed backstage at his Fall 2011 show, but what came down the runway was finished and refined. His tailoring skill, particularly with wool and silks, was more highly evident than in any previous collection. Asked what he set out to accomplish between last season and this one, Sr. de Souza said, “well, I always wanted to do tailored, really well tailored clothes, and that’s what I added. We worked really hard at it. We have the perfect jacket, the perfect fit, the perfect everything, and I was all about that. And mixing things that I feel is really personal that I’ve been involved a lot with, the ruffles and the lily tails, and the couture elements.” Continue reading “Victor de Souza – Fall 2011”

Buckler – Fall 2011

The Buckler brand has moved away from denim and the change matures the cuts.

story by Colleen Vincent
photos by Aeric Meredith-Goujon

Friday, February 12th, 2011 – 1:30PM – Grand St btwn. Mercer & Green

Andrew Buckler takes “Anonymous Art” to the streets. On a slush-covered cobblestone Soho block, Buckler Fall 2011 was an urban revelation. Inspired by urban art, an integral part of the city landscape, “Anonymous Art” uses clothing as canvas. The details are spare but striking, asymmetrical twin zippers elevate an old white crew neck sweater, a black cotton sport jacket transformed by a sleek leather bib, and a zipped neck grey wool cardigan increases practicality with handy thumb hole cutouts. Buckler creates an aesthetic which finds an alluring middle ground between fashionable and masculine. Continue reading “Buckler – Fall 2011”

Gary Graham – Fall 2011

Mr. Graham is a bit of a mad scientist who likes to alter and change the nature of his fabrics before he works with them. His clothes are unique on their own just because of this, but when you add in his love of mixing and matching his work becomes even more significant.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Freda Henry

“Be mine sister salvation, juke joint jezebel’s comin for my cremation.” When industrial music powerhouse KMFDM wrote those lyrics almost two decades ago, they were referencing a particularly American female iconic woman, the backwoods siren. Poorer than poor and with mismatched homespun clothes, she nonetheless casts a bewitching spell on men and the American consciousness. Gary Graham’s Fall 2011 collection was made with this rockabilly razor in mind and this is a fairly typical muse for his work. Continue reading “Gary Graham – Fall 2011”

Siki Im – Fall 2011

Mr. Im’s Fall 2011 collection pulls a vibe to it where you can imagine places and people.

story by Dana Varon
photos by Stephen Bodi and Charles Beckwith

Siki Im is not afraid to take risks. He takes them with videos on his site that he calls “motion,” where he takes images, sound, movement, and atmosphere, and melds them together into a short piece of art. The clothing follows suit– Mr. Im’s Fall 2011 collection pulls a vibe to it where you can imagine places and people. This time and place drawing heavily on Native American culture and perhaps the folk that were not exactly in it but around it. Utilising a real dirt runway was a fit for this earthy collection that featured woven Indian blankets fastened as outerwear with large buttons, fitted worn in cardigans, a comfy large robe, and soft drapey pants that have strings and are cupped at the ankle. Continue reading “Siki Im – Fall 2011”

Vena Cava – Fall 2011

There was good movement, slick leathers, hot high-waisted midriffs, slinky sultry long dresses, and strong cuts in the shoulder area on many looks.

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Adrianna Favero

The Fall 2011 Vena Cava collection by designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock was a fun show. They gave all the guests a copy of ‘Zina Cava, a pre-Internet style homemade fashion magazine. The designers met when they were 17 in California, and it was something they had in common early. There was nothing juvenile about the collection they showed on the runway though. There was good movement and a gliding appearance to the first look and then came slick leathers, hot high-waisted midriffs, slinky sultry long dresses, creative cutouts and criss-crosses, and very strong forms in the shoulder area on many looks. Many of their garments are tight on the torso and hips, the sort of dresses and pants that lend appropriate framing to a commendable posterior on a confident woman. There were subtle lines and patterns on a lot of looks, but they gave emphasis to the forms rather than overriding them, they were submissive to the cuts. Overall a very nice flow and some great outfits from Vena Cava this season. Continue reading “Vena Cava – Fall 2011”

Tadashi Shoji – Fall 2011

Tadashi Shoji’s Fall 2011 collection was inspired by the gardens of his native Japan, and his artist’s eye fell mainly on the harmonies that a skilled gardener can create. His dresses on this runway were filled with paths crossing and winding their way around a woman’s frame.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Freda Henry

Every garden has it’s own character, as does every plant and every flower. No two alike, always, as nature creates things. As it is in the natural world, so it is in the collections of a great designer. Even when the impetus is the same, the collections of two designers will often be dramatically different. Fashion designers often dip their brushes in the palettes of petals and blooms. But, just like flowers, no designer’s floral inspirations arrive on the runway in quite the same way. Tadashi Shoji’s Fall 2011 collection was inspired by the gardens of his native Japan, and his artist’s eye fell mainly on the harmonies that a skilled gardener can create. His dresses on this runway were filled with paths crossing and winding their way around a woman’s frame. Continue reading “Tadashi Shoji – Fall 2011”

Jenni Kayne – Fall 2011

The designer said that her Fall 2011 Collection was designed for “the coolest girl in the middle of nowhere.” That young lady is well dressed by Miss Kayne.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Ned & Aya Rosen

A designer’s clothing doesn’t have to be loud or flashy or revolutionary to be attention grabbing. Many, many fine designers are perfectly happy and suited to work inside of the structure of traditional shapes and “normal” pieces. Shirts, pants, jackets, skirts etc. Back in the mid twentieth century they called anything that wasn’t a dress or a suit “sportswear.” Well, if Jenni Kayne is a sportswear designer, I need to to learn how to play whatever sport she designs for. The designer said that her Fall 2011 Collection was designed for “the coolest girl in the middle of nowhere.” That young lady is well dressed by Miss Kayne. Continue reading “Jenni Kayne – Fall 2011”

Copperwheat – Fall 2011

story by Dana Varon
photos by Hamza

Copperwheat is known for their tapered tailoring and pattern-splashed pieces creating a unique juxtaposition of fine men’s clothing and fun streetwear. This season they uphold their aesthetic but their Urban Warrior is even more ready to take on the street in their mix of interchangeable pieces. Maroon, black, army green, some purple and dusky greys and blues dress the palette. Wool pants colored with the slightest tint of stripe (think black and blue), charcoal tweeds with thin leather pocket detailing and navy drop-crotch, tapered bottom pants were topped with printed long sleeved tee’s, hip fitting printed armed sweatshirts, vests, material collared/cuffed leather jackets, lightweight military ones and perfectly fit blazers. The latter featuring a navy cropped one with a shadow of their large pig prints. Also featuring the unique print is their trench. But there is something for everyone with their slightly quilt-like black and white suit in a map print, which looked marbley from a distance, and one in a take on camo creating a new warmer way to wear them. Real traditionals can don the dark brown pin striped suit. Ben Copperwheat, the line’s print designer, noted that their pieces are a take on the traditional with a rebellious edge-much like the English vibe where he is originally from and like their amazing tartan from former seasons. Lee Copperwheat, his tailor designer counterpart cousin, touched on their message that this season is about it just being real for the real man, melding their roots with New York City, and it looks like the duo achieved that. Continue reading “Copperwheat – Fall 2011”

Nima Taherzadeh – Fall 2011

What a designer sees and focuses on when they look at women defines quite a bit about the looks and silhouettes they create. Everybody has favorite bits of a person, the curves and crannies of the human body hold endless fascinations for people. For some designers it changes from season to season. For some it even changes from garment to garment. Nima Taherzadeh likes playing peek-a-boo with the loveliness that is a woman’s body.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Ned and Aya Rosen

Fratelli Rossetti – Fall 2011

Put a Fratelli Rosetti pump next to a cheaply made heel and it’s a stakes grade thoroughbred next to a donkey.

story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Freda Henry

Endurance is not out of style. In today’s disposable world, convenience and price matter more than permanence on a cultural level, and its amazing that labels like Fratelli Rossetti thrive. Passe notions such as familial tradition and a commitment to craftsmanship are at the core of this classic Italian shoe company. Season after season Fratelli Rossetti creates breathtaking examples of the cobbler’s art. There is always a classic nature to their shoes. Distinctiveness in their shoes and boots comes from subtle detail and the almost spiritual ability of high quality leather and construction to stand out. Put a Fratelli Rossetti pump next to a cheaply made heel and it’s a stakes grade thoroughbred next to a donkey. Continue reading “Fratelli Rossetti – Fall 2011”