If you didn't know it, this week is Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in NYC. Designers are breaking out their Fall 2012 Read-to-Wear gear before Hamilton, NY has even entered spring (if we end up getting any snow this winter, that is). Overall, designers seemed to be getting a little too friendly with scissors and shredders this season as they toed the line between extremely sexy and school marm. Yet big sweaters and bigger silhouettes did make a splash today. But, the questions really sticking out in The Mannequin's mind are: Who were the stylists and do they still have jobs? Cowboy hats, really? And the shoes?
Curious? Here's the Runway Rundown for the day:
While BCBG Max Azria had the occasional standout color-blocked piece, I could not get past the connection my mind made between the cut of the skirts and how extended loin-cloths might look. And was it just me, or did it look like they rouged their knees and rolled their stockings down? Chadwick Bell's collection was Balmain meets disheveled/sexy secretary/heiress...interesting. Costello Tagliapietra gained my vote as the most wearable and simplistically luxurious collection of the day. The Italian flair and user-friendly dresses for all ages were fun. The prints added just the right about of change without being ostentatious. With earthy/terra-cotta tones and gorgeous draping, Tagliapietra's collection had only a few misses (sack-like dresses don't look good on models...they're not going to look good on real people either: just because Victoria Beckham's Victoria collection has them too does not make them ok).
Step right up to the three-ring circus or right into a Tim Burton film and you may just capture the vibe of Creatures of the Wind. Every piece was one thing too many. Cynthia Rowley failed to stand out in either a good or bad way. Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Obando's collection was full of equal parts hit and miss. Picture a combination of edgy and feminine frills (in mint green).
Kimberly Ovits clearly likes black as her collection was variation after variation on the not so little black dress.
Dear Nicholas K., lose the cowboy hats on your models and you may have just created neo-grunge. Layering in grays and blacks this collection is very wearable. Nicholas knows how to drape while still flattering the female silhouette. And Richard Chai Love, I love you. Prepsters in patterns begged me to buy the clothes right off their bodies in this collection. Spanning both the women's and men's ranges, RCL even managed to make me like the flowy pants/pajamas for everyday use look. Everything was pulled together seamlessly.
Tadashi Shoji's collection had clearly divided sections based on fabric and flow. From the Victorian to dresses that belonged to the fictional worlds of F. Scott Fitzgerald, to the structuralists, this collection had it all (and most of it was exquisite too). The Lake & Stars seemed amateur. There was nothing we haven't seen before; the lingerie was bad, the clothing was wearable.
To finish things off, if you want to be warm and look like you belong in an NYC loft or art gallery, try out TSE with its chunky knits and tall, stream-lined silhouettes.
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