INTERNATIONAL REVIEWS ON CFDA.COM
The CFDA has launched a new service-driven platform to support their member designers and American design houses this New York Fashion Week. These are the International Reviews as of February 13, 2013.
CORRIERE DELLA SERA
corriere.it
By: Paola Pollo
Date: February 13, 2013
Spolverino in raso scamiciato in pelle Divise da lavoro
NEW YORK — Un tempo era la segretaria perfetta, oggi si chiama assistente perfetta e della predecessora conserva fare impettito e sguardo arcigno, camicetta accollata e gonna pencil ma osa una bocca più rossa e il capello vaporoso da sfrontata, flash di arancio fluo e scarpe shining di vernice. Grande Marc Jacobs, lo stilista americano che sta scrivendo la storia degli ultimi anni della moda newyorkese, dà saggio di professionalità disegnando per la sua Marc by Marc Jacobs, che è la linea numero due, una collezione d’immagine davvero entusiasmante. Jacobs ritorna sui suoi immaginari fatti sempre d’istitutrici, segretarie, hostess, signorine perbene che lasciano spazio a fantasie più o meno scontate. L’altra sera per esempio. Gli anni Settanta e Ottanta il riferimento, con questa segretaria/assistente che è un’aggiornata Melanie Griffith in Working girl, in divisa d’ordinanza (camicetta allacciata e midi) ma pure in tailleur (pantalone a vita alta e giacca over doppiopetto) e scamiciato (un capo di ritorno, decisamente) svasato e danzante, spolverini di raso, paletot scozzesi, tubini di maglia con il cinturino e dolcevita. Stampe Settanta e colori Jacobs: rosso Beaujolais, verde, blu, grigio, bruciato. Lui, Marc, esce un secondo in pedana, in forma come mai. E non potrebbe essere altrimenti vista la performance nel video-spot con lui protagonista mentre si spoglia in una cabina per le fototessere bevendo una bibita.
Più primitiva e istintiva la figura di riferimento di Donna Karan. Che poi è lei, la stilista, perché la sfilata è un susseguirsi di cloni della signora. L’ispirazione è la vita di questa vulcanica donna: sono le enormi sculture di rame di Stephan Weiss, l’amato marito morto troppo presto. Così gli abiti levigano i corpi dando loro forme morbide ma importanti. Sono sette i capi attorno ai quali la stilista costruisce tutto: body di jersey, pantalone di pelle, giacca, gonna portafoglio, abito drappeggiato, cappotto e paio di scarpe con la zeppa. I colori scuri, della materia, argilla, terra, rame, fango. Occhi bistrati. «Non è più tempo del preppy. La donna di New York oggi è una che vuole abbracciare il mondo intero e lo fa con forza, sensualità e pienezza dentro». Una vecchia amica arriva, a fine sfilate, è Uma Thurman, da poco, di nuovo mamma, irriconoscibile e fra il pubblico parte lo stupore: «Nooooo, si è rifatta anche lei!». Chissà, chi lo sa.
Per niente minimal, primitiva o quant’altro la signorina perbenissimo di Tory Burch. Probabilmente, anzi, è la collega d’ufficio dell’assistente perfetta di cui sopra by Marc Jacobs. Solo un pochino più leziosa e civetta con tutte quelle collane e ricami e paillettes e cristalli. Ma il guardaroba non cambia: le gonne midi, spesso pencil, le camicette e le t-shirt (molte e sfiziose) accollate, gli scamiciati, i paletot morbidi, il guanto lungo, le maglie di mohair e i tailleur di tweed. Stampe e colori di grande impatto e gusto: ispirazione i dipinti di Gustav Klimt e i cristalli di Lalique. Qua e là scarabei e coleotteri portafortuna. Accessori importanti: le collane (un best buy della stilista) ma anche scarpe (mocassini alti e sofisticati) e borse (spesso ricamate).
È giovane, è grunge ed è una «skater». Con fierezza bolognese Manuela Arcari racconta la sua donna per Hache, linea made in Italy ma di grande impatto newyorkese proprio per via di questa sua anima metropolitana e tormentata. Dai contrasti, la solarità di Bologna che incontra l’underground di New York, un prodotto interessante: fatto di piccoli pezzi assemblabili e scomponibili di nuovo. Il gessato con il broccato, i pantaloni over da skater in duchesse, la canotta di pelle metallizzata, il gilet di pelliccia, il pullover in mohair, il giubbotto di nappa doppiato tessuto tecnico, sneaker metalliche, sandali di pelliccia e tracolle di montone rosa bubble.
Atmosfera underground anche nel loft post industriale dove Mm6, linea giovane della Maison Martin Margiela, ha proposto la sua nuova collezione. Originale (e non c’è da stupirsi visto il dna della griffe) l’ispirazione: le Olimpiadi invernali di Helsinki del 1952. Senza un particolare perché, com’è nell’ordine di questa sperimentale azienda. Quindi un atletico che incontra il casual scoprendo un concept sportswear interessante. Le reminiscenze dei giochi qua e là, nei blocchi colori, per esempio, tipici delle divise sportive e poi i giubbotti, i pantaloni slim, i dolcevita, le giacche a vento. E le divagazioni dell’atelier: le stampe che sono foto di momenti di vita alla maison Margiela (un pavimento, un muro, la gente in ufficio) e poi capi in falso pitone o lo stivaletto con la zeppa o il piumino stampato a pelliccia. Sono soddisfatti alla Mm. Entro l’anno già tre aperture di monomarca in vista: Parigi, Milano e… top secret.
FINANCIAL TIMES
Ft.com
By: Vanessa Friedman
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/ad6b492a-75b5-11e2-9891-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2KpW6ziN5
New York: runway report four
Tuesday’s womenswear shows finished just in time for everyone (OK, those of us who cared) to race back to their TVs/iPads/laptops to watch the State of the Union address, though it was a close shave; Narciso Rodriguez’s terrific exegesis on the state of the tuxedo suit did not end until 30 minutes before the president’s big address was scheduled to start. As a result, it took a while to get your head into the moment.
One second, there you were, engaging in fantasies of being the coolest grown-up at a black tie event thanks to Mr Rodriguez’s skinny cropped black trousers under shells sprouting asymmetric strings of “bone” embroidery like pearls gone gonzo; his not-nearly-as-simple-as-they-look dresses in laser bonded wool and jet embroidery; there you were thinking you could be the most elegant professional at any meeting, in navy trousers and tangerine shell and cognac jacket – and the next second, you were watching President Obama discuss climate change and infrastructure spending. Even though Mrs O is a fan of Mr Rodriguez, and the shades of tie on view (blue for the President, peachy-pink for the Speaker, lavender for the VP) are currently popular on the catwalks, the connections were pretty tangential.
But then, connections of all kinds were a little obscure on Tuesday, which featured more idiosyncratic collections than have been the norm thus far during New York Fashion Week.
Sometimes this was good, as with Rodarte’s tailored jackets over cropped trousers so low-slung that when shown with leotards cut waist-high they exposed an erogenous triangle of hip, which segued into jumpsuits with sheer backs embroidered in angel wings, which segued into sheer nighties with strategically placed diagonal ruffles – which gave way in turn to gowns that melded tie-dyed silk and tulle embroidered in beaded poppies topped by thick “foam” tabards. It wasn’t pretty, exactly, but it had a weirdly challenging seduction; the intimacy of a glance inside someone’s head.
On the other hand, sometimes the oddness was less felicitous, as with Vera Wang’s “exploration of classical dressmaking” (her words), which took the geometry of couture – egg shapes, peplums, drapery – and modernised it with a too-heavy hand, so the sides were carved out of a short sleeveless coat to expose an underdress, hips grew and grew via peplums and folds (hips, really? This is shaping up as one of the weirder trends for autumn/winter, and it’s hard to imagine that real women will think extra padding in this area is a good idea), and fox capes were clasped by thick, almost medieval, leather bands. Realised in multiple materials from guipure lace to metallic brocade, giant rose print jacquard and iridescent sequins, what started as intriguing ultimately became exhausting.
Meanwhile, Sophie Theallet’s parade of beautifully layered red-and-coffee coloured signature pleated skirts under sleeveless tops, grey-on-grey trousers and long, draped dresses confirmed her as a consummate sartorial colourist, but in their familiarity felt strangely insubstantial, and at Oscar de la Renta, schizophrenia reigned.
Audience members frittered away the time pre-show playing “find the Galliano”, looking for signs of the disgraced former Dior artistic director who had been given a three-week berth in Oscar’s design studio. Word was he was hiding backstage, but no matter: Mr Galliano’s presence was very much apparent in the collection, as the Galliano aesthetic – hyper-romance and subversion – bumped up against the De La Renta aesthetic – joyful richesse – in what proved less a co-ordinated dance than a collision.
So, very Galliano draped 1950s “cashgora” skirt suits nipped at the waist with a tiny belt or gathered and flounced at the back were followed by very Oscar organza embroidered cocktail dresses, and Kate Moss-ready velvet rocker trousers paired with sheer T-shirts under chiffon capes (Galliano-esque) had very little to do with an organza top and skirt covered in silver beading (Oscar-like). When it came to evening wear, a bubble-like mini “cocoon jacket” in multicoloured ikat jacquard stuck out among a sea of classic de la Renta infanta gowns with 24-carat embroidery.
Whatever the reason Mr de la Renta decided to bring Mr Galliano in, the end result didn’t make much sense at all. Maybe a State of the House address would have helped. It certainly would have clarified the agenda.
IL GIORNALE
Ilgiornale.it
By: Daniela Fedi
Date: February 13, 2013
La segretaria perfetta degli anni Settanta, vero anello di congiunzione con la working woman di successo degli anni Ottanta, approda sulle passerelle di New York facendoci riscoprire il fascino dell’efficienza, dello stile quieto ed educatamente sexy, della praticità senza sciatteria. Merito di quel geniaccio di Marc Jacobs che per la linea Marc by Marc Jacobs ha costruito un sensazionale guardaroba di gonne a quattro teli con blusa assortita nello stesso jersey a macrofantasie geometriche, pantaloni larghi a mezzo polpaccio sotto al caban doppiopetto, deliziosi scamiciati di linea scivolata, stupende borse a bauletto in vernice luccicante e solide scarpe a decolleté fascianti sul malleolo. Tutte le modelle avevano i capelli sciolti e gonfi di Melanine Griffith in Una donna in carriera, le labbra laccate di rosso e i grandi occhialoni con le lenti colorate: un’immagine deliziosa. Il pubblico in sala stava per decretare la standing ovation ma lo stilista è scappato via di corsa perché pare sia molto in ritardo con la collezione principale. Non a caso la sfilata di Marc Jacobs è stata rimandata a giovedì sera con la scusa del maltempo che nei giorni scorsi ha provocato notevoli disagi alla fashion week newyorkese. Detto questo da noi sarebbe impensabile una cosa del genere: scoppierebbero inutili polemiche per via di quel clima da tutti contro tutti che non produce mai niente di buono. Sarebbe invece tempo di fare fronte comune e lavorare sodo anche perché gli americani stanno crescendo tanto e a volte molto bene. E’ il caso per esempio di Tory Burch, quarantasettenne signora dell’Upper East Side che ha costruito un piccolo impero del lusso e della femminilità partendo da un paio di ballerine con il logo a medaglione dorato sulla punta. La sua collezione per il prossimo inverno in passerella ieri mattina nei saloni barocchi dell’hotel Pierre, era un perfetto abbecedario sull’arte di decorarsi delle donne. La signora è infatti partita dall’oro di Gustav Klimt e dalla grafica del secessionismo viennese, poi ha fatto un’incursione nel mondo incantato dell’art Nouveau prendendo soprattutto in esame il bestiario fantastico di Renè Lalique per costruire un’immagine di donna impeccabile con lo stesso vestito dal mattino alla sera. Anche in questo caso c’è il pratico ensemble di gonna e camicetta impreziosito però da straordinari bijoux con soggetti tipo lo scarabeo riprodotti anche sulle stampe degli abiti oppure trasformati in fibbie-gioiello delle magnifiche borsine da sera o, ancora, evocati dalla pelle luccicante di alcune scarpe nello stesso verde iridescente del guscio. Il tutto con molto buon gusto e misura soprattutto nel dosaggio degli accessori. Molto diversa ma sempre interessante, la collezione di Donna Karan è una specie di partita a scacchi in sette mosse per vincere un premio chiamato sensualità. “Ci vuole un body in jersey, un poncho di camoscio, dei bellissimi pantaloni, l’abito scolpito addosso, i tacchi alti, la giacca ben tagliata e un uomo da amare” recita la grande stilista americana abbracciando Uma Turman che deve aver incontrato un chirurgo plastico armato di k atana come Kill Bill. Fantastica la collezione MM6 di Margiela con un’ispirazione surreale che parte dalle olimpiadi invernali di Helsinki nel 1953 e arriva al mosaico sul pavimento parigino della maison. Hache, marchio italiano disegnato da Manuela Arcari, mescola lo stile grunge con lo skateboarding degli anni Novanta. Non si capisce bene cosa voglia dire ma il risultato è molto carino con i pantaloni sotto alle gonne e i cappotti con un inserto staccabile di montone rosa preso dall’interno degli Hugg.
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
iht.com
By: Suzy Menkes
Date: February 13, 2013
Oscar and Galliano: An Awkward Conversation
NEW YORK — “We worked so well together. But John’s not backstage — he is going to London tomorrow to talk to Saint Martins school about teaching there,” said a benevolent Oscar de la Renta, referring to John Galliano, his “designer in residence” of the past three weeks.
Although there was a brief sighting of the British designer, with pigtailed hair and his usual Edwardian hobo look, on a trip to the restroom, a front-row audience that included Valentino, Giancarlo Giammetti, Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller waited with eager anticipation to see signs of the disgraced designer’s comeback.
First: The hat. Dark, deep-crowned and a neat topping off of a Dior-style suit draped into rounded curves at the waist.
After that, came a pretty easy guessing game as to who had done what. It included from Mr. Galliano the fairy makeup and ragged hair, with a drowned mermaid look by the end of the show atop one of Mr. de la Renta’s glorious, full-skirted gowns. In the accessories department were loose chiffon gloves with painterly patterns and jewels put artistically onto odd spots, like the nape of the neck.
This hybrid fashion was sometimes compelling, always strange and seemed wistful and dreamy compared to the youthful energy and techno fabrics of Mr. de la Renta’s work last season. It was an example of opposing aesthetics not quite meeting: two artists working on the same painting, with some nice touches like the toile de Jouy-type patterns. Full marks to the American designer for offering an olive branch of forgiveness; and to Mr. Galliano for staying discreetly out of sight. This was a collaboration that played out as interesting fashion comments on both sides — but not as a conversation.
The way that the Mulleavy sisters — Kate and Laura — fuse their artistic spirits has brought some stunning fashion moments. And the winter 2013 collection for Rodarte produced a few more. They came toward the end of the show, when the set of neon mini-pillars made sense alongside a lineup of glowing tie-dye dresses, which looked as if they had been taken from the hippie-era Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.
“It’s about having a reference point — and traveling with it,” said Kate Mulleavy, while her sister explained that their childhood home in a small town outside Santa Cruz, south of San Francisco, was the starting position. That explained the weird surfing influence on body suits, which revealed duel triangles of flesh at the crease of the legs, before the sporty look was engulfed by square-cut pants.
Hells Angels surfboards might have inspired a more delicate idea: barely there chiffon dresses with angel wings across the back. But the magic of the show was in the evening dresses, more summer than winter, but with color and pattern that caught the wave of California dreamin’.
If anything can get New Yorkers to abandon black, it will be this season’s intriguing colors. Blood orange deepening to rust, gradations of green and vivid fuchsia were inserted skillfully into the more familiar graphic shades in the Narciso Rodriguez collection. Here is a designer who just keeps getting better by pushing the boundaries without abandoning his core vision: graphic clothes built on a strict geometry.
But Mr. Rodriguez has loosened up his once body-conscious clothes, so that slim pants or swaying dresses followed the form without ever clinging to it. The designer, once wedded to minimalism, also has taken his hand to decoration, with rivulets of tiny beads. In all: an exemplary exercise in keeping a fashion spirit intact while moving forward.
Vera Wang added to her eerie and exceptional sense of color, patterns of flat flowers that seemed to grow from their digital presence on the runway to become glowing designs on evening dresses.
If the designer had stayed just with those ideas, the collection would have been easier to follow. But instead there were complex shapes and drapes, as if a junior architect were trying out skills. So hips on skirts and dresses would be enlarged with draping while furry mini capes circled the upper arms. So many of these concepts seemed tortured that it was a pleasure to see the more simple dresses with a colorful interpretation of the carpet of flowers.
Tory Burch seemed a year out of synch with her inspirations of Gustav Klimt, the Art Nouveau artist whose rich embellishments from his “golden” period have appeared already on many runways. But the designer made a nice job of bringing embellishment to her mix-and-match separates. Along with the predictable dragonfly motif, refreshed as gleaming sunglasses, Ms. Burch paired lush velvet slippers with her rich bead embroideries. She made outfits seem as pretty as a framed picture when skirt, backdrop and floor covering all had the same Art Nouveau flower print.
Sophie Theallet is up for a Woolmark international award, to be announced in London on Saturday. So it was not surprising that she added to her jewel colors and rich patterns knits drawn from simple memories of her mother skiing in the postwar period. Thick knitted sweaters, still with decorative elements, joined a collection that Ms. Theallet described as “authenticity, simplicity — and well-cut clothes.” Added to that were kitten-heel shoes where a mix of colors was allowed full rein.
Black and white was the message from the Norwegian-born designer Andreas Melbostad in his debut collection for Diesel Black Gold. Backstage, the new creative director said that his focus was on “construction and tailoring” and on leather and denim. That came together effectively as dark jeans inset with patches of black lace or as metallic studded embellishment. This high craft sportswear has another purpose: to upgrade the Black Gold range. Renzo Rosso, who heads the Diesel empire, noted that 70 percent of Black Gold is made in Italy.
If you have only one focus in a collection, it is unlikely to sing from the runway. The Victoria, Victoria Beckham line was built on the idea of dresses that look like separates. Only when the models turned their backs, revealing the designer’s signature slash of metallic zippers, was it clear that the apparent tops and skirts were all-in-one. It was clever and well-crafted — but not enough to support a show, however small and unpretentious. Up close would have been a better way to see interesting elements like compact jersey and a treated wool cloth wittily named “tech poodle.”
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/in-english-2-130213-348804
Phillip Lim
Phillip Lim, in a homage to the girlfriends of motorbike racers, won the day’s biggest applause. Cinnamon peplum motard jackets, trompe l’oeil pea coats worn with leather mini skirts or teal techno wool parkas with Mongolian hoods all looked highly wearable and brim full of energy. Everything managed to combine sturdy authority with insouciance. A brash palette – cooper, deep turquoise or deep rose – and bold accessories – rugged biker bags and jangling Alexis Bittar earrings, kept the mood fresh. No wonder, buyers from Lane Crawford, Hong Kong’s biggest department store, say no young designer has better sell-through than Lim. “Café riders girls. Freedom, and being what you truly are,” beamed Lim backstage, after this gutsy yet commercial show.
Thom Browne
It turns out there is at least one new American born couturier and his name is Thom Browne. Eighteen days after dressing Michelle Obama for the presidential inauguration, Browne staged a small sensation of a show, a decadent Georgian romp of considerable technical accomplishment climaxed by a beautiful black bride in a blood red shantung tea dress. Browne might make minimalist tailoring for men. But his debut runway show for women – where female models paraded around a snowy wood littered with camp beds on which young men slept in his signature “Little Boy” suits – was hyper maximalist. Bias cut dresses, recalling Kiera Knightly in “The Duchess” – many made with over 20 meters of fabric; enormous Donegal tweed jackets with enormous shoulder pads and hyper hip shapes. Moreover his take on Prince of Wales check, seen all over the Manhattan runways, was delightful, and couture quality in its decoration – hand cut lace paisley scraps, vinyl roses and palettes. Bee-stung lips, giant bouffant aristocratic wigs and pale makeup added to the air of magical decadence. Not likely looks for a First Lady, but truly great visuals.
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs may have messed up the whole New York season by shifting his signature back three days, but his junior Marc by Marc Jacobs collection was a decided success. Think Rita Hayworth sweeping hairstyles, and Fifties’ Sexy Secretary looks. Spongy Prairie indigo twill dresses, taut Etta print tops and skirts or the finale’s racy Corvette red satin vamp cocktails all evoked sexual liberation, coupled with practical chic. Despite the sleek performance, Jacobs received no compliments backstage – he skipped out of the Lincoln Center show-space seconds after taking his bow.
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/in-english-1-130213-348802
Carolina Herrera
In a nostalgic season in New York, America’s reigning queen of uptown grown up fashion, Carolina Herrera, looked to the late 40s for inspiration. All rather retro – 40’s nipped waists, flirty skirts and bold Rita Hayworth movie star hues of sapphire, emerald and rose quartz – yet the mood was very much modern high society. Abstract hounds-tooth silk gowns, black urchin print jacquard strapless dresses and beige wool suits with collar and belt in sable all had great élan. Ideally, this is how the mums in Gossip Girl like to dress. And while her nearest rival, Oscar de la Renta, took British-born John Galliano into his atelier, Herrera hired the whole London Contemporary Orchestra for her show score. Its name: Capriccio for Carolina, just like these ruby silk crepe columns and the ombré jackets with vertical stripes of inlaid broadtail. Talk about opulent self-indulgence.
The Row – Gracious Host Elegance
A charming morning moment at The Row, where demure models strolled in relaxed hostess style through an Upper East Side townhouse. Fluidly draped, the super fine coats and jackets in combinations of cashmere, heavy nappa, wool hopsack and astrakhan mixed mannish federal era tailoring with forgiving Japanese silhouettes. And in a season of white voluminous sweaters – the dimpled sleeve and scallop backed Aran pullover was the most refined. Accompanied by classical violin, the presentation peaked for evening, with maxis in faded gold jacquard and long tunics of paisley silk cloque.
The Row’s twin sister design duo of actresses Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are famed for inventing boho chic for Americans, but the show location is currently on the market for $40 million. “It was what we create, ease and elegance with eccentricity,” explained Ashley, in the mansion cleverly reinvented by French show producer Alex de Betak with terra cotta busts, colonial portraits and Art Deco lamps. “I loved it. Then again I am biased,” beamed Olivier Sarkozy, standing close to his current girlfriend – Mary Kate.
Theyskens’ Theory – Downtown futurism.
Paris clearly misses a designer of the quality of Olivier Theyskens whose exile in New York has inspired an innovative and refreshing body of work. This collection was his best statement since coming to the USA – the volumes of high fashion with the energy of the street. Padded cotton used in wide culottes, naval loon pants and tunics; deep pocketed, short cocktails with metallic finishes and, in a season of white ecru, the prettiest of curved back matelassé tops. “Futurism, but not as a utopia. More girls in comfortable, padded and slouchy clothes. A future that you can enjoy, and wear,” explained Theyskens, after a gang of models, who all clearly loved the clothes, posed beside him post-show.
Donna Karan
It’s been a fine fashion week for Donna Karan, who followed up her tough chic DKNY show, with an assured, signature show. DKNY was all about stylish comfort – huge parkas in contrasting panels of khaki cotton, canvas and tough leather, paired with animal print tops; bold red Chesterfields – all ideal to confront the dank New York weather. While Donna Karan impressed with subtle wrap dresses in viscose or wool stretch, and curvy jackets with highwayman protective shoulders in double face of cashmere and neoprene. So even if the shag mohair coats had absurdist Yeti connotations, this was a fine statement of sensual urban assurance.
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/marc-by-marc-jacobs-130213-348800
Marc by Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs a peut-être perturbé la semaine new-yorkaise en décalant de trois jours le show de sa ligne éponyme, mais le défilé de la collection junior Marc by Marc Jacobs a été un véritable succès avec ses coiffures à la Rita Hayworth et ses looks de secrétaire sexy des années 1950. Robes en sergé indigo, hauts et jupes arborant un imprimé floral Etta ou robes de cocktail de vamps racées en satin rouge Corvette font tous référence à la libération sexuelle, dans un esprit chic et pratique à la fois. Malgré sa performance, Jacobs n’a pas été félicité en coulisses – il s’est esquivé de la salle des défilés du Lincoln Center, quelques secondes après avoir salué le public.
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/donna-karan-31-phillip-lim-thom-brown-130213-348798
Donna Karan, 3.1 Phillip Lim et Thom Browne
C’est une bonne saison pour Donna Karan, qui propose un défilé DKNY chic et musclé, fidèle à sa signature. Ici, il est surtout question de confort stylé – des parkas en coton, toile et cuir résistant, avec des panneaux contrastés en coton kaki, assortis de hauts à motifs animaux, des Chesterfield rouge éclatant. Un vestiaire idéal pour affronter le temps humide de New York. Pour son autre griffe Donna Karan, la créatrice fait impression avec de subtiles robes portefeuille en viscose ou laine stretch et des vestes très enveloppantes, avec des épaules protectrices de bandit de grand chemin, en double face de cachemire et Néoprène. Même si les manteaux en mohair à poils longs donnent parfois des allures étranges de yéti, il en émane une belle impression d’assurance, urbaine et sensuelle.
3.1 Phillip Lim, dans un hommage aux petites amies des motards, a livré la collection la plus applaudie de la journée de lundi. Des vestes de bikers couleur cannelle, des cabans en trompe-l’œil portés avec des mini-jupes en cuir ou des parkas en laine techno bleu canard avec des capuches mongoles… Tout semble facile à porter, plein d’énergie, et réussit à combiner autorité et insouciance. Une palette soutenue (cuivre, turquoise foncé ou rose foncé) et des accessoires osés (des sacs de motard robustes et des boucles d’oreilles cliquetantes) apportent une note de fraîcheur. Pas étonnant alors que les acheteurs de Lane Crawford, le fameux grand magasin de Hongkong, affirment qu’aucun jeune styliste ne se vend mieux que Lim. « De la liberté ! Être ce que l’on est vraiment ! », clame le designer en coulisses, après son show audacieux et non moins commercial.
Il y a au moins un nouveau couturier américain: Thom Browne. Dix-huit jours après avoir habillé Michelle Obama pour l’investiture présidentielle, Browne fait sensation, avec une présentation où des mannequins féminins déambulent dans un bois enneigé, rempli de lits de camp sur lesquels dorment de jeunes hommes vêtus de son costume Little Boy. Le show atteint son point culminant quand arrive une mariée black magnifique dans une jolie robe de cérémonie en shantung rouge sang. Browne réalise une mode minimaliste pour hommes, mais sa collection femme présentée pour la première fois lors d’un défilé est bien « maximaliste ». Des robes coupées dans le biais, rappelant Keira Knightley dans The Duchess – beaucoup d’entre elles sont confectionnées avec plus de vingt mètres de tissu -, des vestes en tweed du Donegal avec des épaulettes énormes et des coupes ultra-branchées. Son interprétation du motif Prince-De-Galles, vu partout sur les podiums de Manhattan, est on ne peut plus ravissante, avec des broderies de qualité haute couture, des chutes de dentelles Paisley, roses en vinyle et paillettes. Les lèvres très marquées des mannequins, leurs perruques aristocratiques bouffantes et un maquillage pâle renforcent cette atmosphère de décadence magique. Pas forcément une tenue pour une première dame, mais un réel plaisir des yeux.
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/the-row-theyskens-theory-130213-348796
The Row et Theyskens’ Theory
Un moment exquis, le défilé The Row. Des mannequins discrets, habillés en maîtresses de maison décontractées, déambulent dans une maison de ville de l’Upper East Side. Les manteaux et vestes ultrafins, conçus dans un mélange de cachemire, de cuir nappa, de laine hopsack et d’astrakan, enveloppent le corps avec fluidité, mariant la traditionnelle technique tailleur à des silhouettes japonisantes. Et dans cette saison de pulls blancs amples, on trouve aussi ici un modèle irlandais Aran à manches alvéolées avec motif coquille Saint-Jacques sur le dos, très raffiné. Sur des airs classiques de violon, la présentation atteint son sommet avec les tenues de soirée, des maxijupes en jacquard or délavé et des tuniques longues en soie cloquée. Les jumelles Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, qui signent le design de The Row, sont connues, ici, pour avoir inventé le chic bohème à l’américaine. Mais le manoir où a lieu le défilé est tout de même actuellement en vente pour 40 millions de dollars… « Nous créons de l’élégance avec de l’excentricité », explique Ashley, dans ce lieu qui a été aménagé de façon subtile par le producteur scénographe Alexandre de Betak, avec bustes en terre cuite, portraits de l’époque coloniale et lampes Art déco. « J’ai adoré le défilé, mais je ne suis sans doute pas objectif », confie Olivier Sarkozy (le demi-frère de …), à côté de sa petite amie Mary-Kate.
ll manque clairement à Paris un styliste de la trempe d’Olivier Theyskens dont l’exil à New York a inspiré le travail innovant et rafraîchissant pour le label Theyskens’ Theory. Cette collection est la meilleure depuis son arrivée ici : elle réunit les codes de la haute couture avec l’énergie de la rue. Du coton matelassé utilisé pour des pantalons amples, des culottes de cavalerie et des tuniques, des robes de cocktail courtes dans des tissus métallisés et des jolies courbes de dos en matelassé. « Du futurisme, mais pas comme une utopie. Plus de filles dans des vêtements confortables, structurés et amples. Un avenir où l’on peut se sentir à l’aise et que l’on peut porter », explique Theyskens, qui pose après le défilé avec une bande de mannequins qui adorent toutes, visiblement, ses vêtements.
LE FIGARO
Lefigaro.fr (English & French)
By: Godfrey Deeny
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://madame.lefigaro.fr/style/chic-fait-son-show-130213-348808
À New York, l’allure se mêle de nostalgie, de décontraction ou d’avant-gardisme selon les marques. Mais l’hiver prochain sera élégant ou ne sera pas.
La reine incontestée de la mode des beaux quartiers, Carolina Herrera, s’est inspirée de la fin des années 1940. Le résultat est assez rétro, nostalgique, avec des tailles cintrées, des jupes séduisantes et des couleurs audacieuses de vedettes de cinéma, comme le saphir, l’émeraude et le quartz rose. Pour autant, l’ambiance correspond bien à la haute société actuelle. Les manteaux en soie imprimés d’un pied-de-poule stylisé, les robes bustier noires jacquard à motifs d’oursin et les tailleurs en laine beige avec des cols et des ceintures de couleur sable ont beaucoup d’allure. Idéalement, c’est la façon dont s’habilleraient les mamans de Gossip Girl. Et pendant que son plus grand rival, Oscar de la Renta, s’offre cette saison les services du Britannique John Galliano, Herrera recrute l’ensemble du London Contemporary Orchestra pour doper son show. Capriccio For Carolina, l’œuvre composée pour l’occasion, tourne en fond sonore pendant que défilent des colonnes de crêpe de soie rubis et des vestes changeantes intégrant des rayures verticales en broadtail.
LE MONDE
Lemonde.fr
By: Carine Bizet
Date: February 13, 2013
Les nouveaux codes de la mode américaine
En plein phase de croissance, la scène mode new-yorkaise délaisse peu à peu ses racines sportswear pour se concentrer sur un vestiaire plus urbain et sophistiqué
Longtemps, la mode américaine a bâti son succès sur de silhouettes athlétiques chic et saines. Le mythe de l’amazone des Hamptons au sourire étincellant et au gout impeccable s’est incarné dans plusieurs générations de Kennedy et dans des créateurs comme Ralph Lauren. Mais depuis le début des années 2000, de jeunes designers comme Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang, Philip Lim, Rodarte sont venus changer les règles du jeu et pousser la mode américaine sur une nouvelle voie. Son « code génétique » a muté. Plus urbaine et sophistiquée, décontractée mais adulte elle diversifie ses effets. A chacun de trouver sa formule et même les créateurs les plus confirmés profitent de cette dynamique pour faire évoluer leur vocabulaire. C’est le cas deTommy Hilfiger : incarnation du look « preppy » (étudiant chic et sportif) depuis les années 80, son style se nourrit cette saison d’anglicismes policés. Le new-yorkais emprunte au style tailleur britannique ses tissus Prince-de-Galles, ou pied-de-poule pour habiller tailleur mini jupe, grand manteaux d’homme, mini robes en soie ou en maille. Elargir son horizon sans se trahir est aussi le défi relevé par Belstaff, un label anglais spécialisé à l’origine dans les tenues pour automobilistes. On retrouve cet héritage dans des vestes renforcées, joliment sculptées. Mais elles sont taillées dans des cuirs ou des nylons laqués ultra chic, portées avec des mini jupes et des bottes cavalières, complétées par de gros pulls en maille (elle aussi renforcée) et de grands manteaux plus adaptés au bureau qu’à la route de campagne. L’ensemble s’apparente à la catégorie « contemporary », une mode de créateurs abordable, au style marqué mais facile à porter qui occupe des étages entiers des grands magasins américains. Dans cette « case » en pleine expansion, Theyskens’ Theory est une des réussites les plus brillantes. Dessinée par le belge Olivier Theyskens, cette ligne lancée il y quatre saisons à peine est déjà un succès grâce au vestiaire moderne et séduisant qu’elle invente. Au programme de l’hiver prochain : des vestes longues à carrures tombantes juste ce qu’il faut, de grands pulls à manches longues gracieux et confortables, des pantalons larges mais pas baggy, des robes soufflées futuristes mais pas spaciales…. Le « contemporary » est aussi une affaire de style de vie, celui d’une génération de femmes qui aiment la mode, le confort et leur carrière. On retrouve cet état d’esprit chez Philip Lim, dans un style plus composite où les variations sur le blouson de moto se portent avec des pulls en mohair duveteux, des leggings en patchwork ou des sweat-shirts XXL zippés. Sa silhouette d’amazone grunge a beaucoup de charme et ses effets de superpositions donnent au passage des idées de stylisme pour la vie de tous les jours. Au quotidien, justement, certaines préfèrent des tenues plus typées comme celles imaginées par Marc Jacobs pour sa ligne Marc by Marc ; Nourrie de références aux années 30-40 (vestes à tailles marquées, robes en satin couleurs bijoux) et aux années 70 (imprimés géométriques, combinaisons pantalons, camaieu orangé), sa collection qui délaisse les penchants grunge du créateur pour un style plus féminin, séduira les jeunes branchées qui écument les boutiques vintage. Celles qui préfèrent un répertoire plus rock, en revanche seront ravies par la première collection d’Andreas Melbostad chez Diesel Black Gold. Le designer norvégien multiplie les effets de matières sophistiqués sur le thème «biker ». Laqués comme un asphalte huilé, les draps de laine, cuirs et denims habillent des silhouettes carénées et/ou cloutées. Des mini jupes graphiques ou des pantalons étroits extra longs dézippés sur le pied complètent cette ligne sexy où chaque pièce pourra se fondre dans une garde-robe plus classique. Aujourd’hui, plus aucune femme n’achète de tenues complètes et pour réussir les créateurs doivent inventer des pièces suffisamment stylées pour faire la différence et suffisamment évidentes pour s’adapter à toutes les vies. Un équilibre pas si évident.
MF FASHION MAGAZINE
Mffashion.com
By: Stefano Roncato
Date: February 13, 2012
La virata super rock di Diesel black gold
«Ho immaginato una gas station, seguendo un’ispirazione biker e utilizzando dettagli che avessero un touch industrial», ha spiegato Andreas Melbostad alla sua prima collezione per il marchio vedette del gruppo Otb-Only the brave. Capelli dirty raccolti in una coda. Décolleté strette da lacci e da anelli metallici. Una pioggia di borchie. Il debutto di Andreas Melbostad come direttore creativo della donna di Diesel Black gold ha un incipit molto chiaro. Rock. «Ho immaginato una gas station», ha spiegato a MFF il designer, «seguendo un’ispirazione biker e utilizzando dettagli che avessero un touch industrial. È creando dei crossover tra le lavorazioni del denim e quelle di lana e tessuti più eleganti». Il panno viene spalmato nei cappottini asciutti dall’anima mannish. Il tuxedo diventa un mini abito, la giacca da smoking si indossa con pantaloni di lana lavorata effetto pelle. Mentre un diluvio di leather vera si usa per giubbini da moto che vengono cosparsi da borchie di diverse fogge e dimensioni. Come sui pant dangerous, come sulle maglie e sui little Black dress. «Siamo molto soddisfatti di come sta andando la collezione», ha poi detto a MFF Daniela Riccardi, ceo di Diesel worldwide, «dopo il negozio di New York, abbiamo già in serbo altre cinque aperture per l’etichetta Diesel black gold nelle principali piazze fashion del mondo». Nell’obbiettivo strategico ci sono città come Londra, Parigi, Tokyo, Shanghai e una tra Milano o Roma.
Giudizio. La collezione Diesel black gold sembra aver trovato la sua strada. Sicuramente forte e rockish, con pezzi strong e di carattere. Borchie all over, very Melbo-stud viene da dire. Venderà. (riproduzione riservata)
MF FASHION MAGAZINE
Mffashion.com
By: Fabio Maria Damato
Date: February 13, 2012
Kors e l’active chic
Lo stilista americano gioca tra atletismo urbano ed eleganza uptown. In versione überluxury.
Urban athleticism meets uptown polish. Energia allo stato pure, in un continuo rimando tra eleganza misurata da signora dei quartieri alti e il dinamismo dello sportswear alta quota. Quindi il top boxy blu elettrico si porta con la gonna dallo spacco-zip scuba. Il pantalone da sci, in pelle guanto traforata e con la coulisse, va con la maglietta di neoprene, con le maniche a contrasto arancio Stabilo boss. La sensazione è di comodità estrema, in capi perfetti per una giornata in città, come sulle piste di Telluride, località sciistica in Colorado, dove le miliardarie di Michael Kors passano i mesi freddi. Le superfici sono piene, lucide e ludiche, sempre croccanti sia quando sono doppiate che se tagliate al laser. Solo a tratti interrotte da due trame quasi giocose: il pied de poule in una versione in paillette per i completi total pattern dal pantalone a matita, e poi il camouflage divertissement blu, nero, grigio e bianco, pronto a diventare un intarsio nel cappotto di visone o impresso a stampa fotografica sul completo due pezzi di nappa bonded. Ma se nel primo blocco le donne del designer sembrano appena saltate giù da uno skilift, poi sono più urbane nei completi con le gonne a ruota di microfibra, e i dress body conscious a strizzare la figura esplosi in baschine appena sopra i fianchi, spesso di leather come i corsetti sagomati con le coppe rigide. La figura è sempre lineare e allungata, anche per la sera, dove gli evening gowns sembrano semplici canotte da palestra con ancora una baschina di taffettà accesa di colori elettrici pronta a mutare in strascichi da tappeto rosso.
Giudizio. Show dalla produzione hollywoodiana quello di Mr. Michael Kors. Ci sono le top model del momento, una colonna sonora da notte degli Oscar e il parterre delle grandi occasioni. Non è un caso se il marchio, fresco della quotazione a Wall Street, ha archiviato lo scorso 29 dicembre il terzo trimestre con un fatturato di 636,8 milioni di dollari (pari a circa 473,9 milioni di euro al cambio di ieri), in crescita del 70%. La collezione è super divertente, desiderabile e spinge l’acceleratore sul quel mondo glamour da super ricchi che piace al designer. La sequenza però subisce alcune sbavature per la voglia di inserire alcuni outfit forse di rottura e poco in armonia con il resto della collezione. Un editing preciso avrebbe amplificato meglio la forza di un messaggio chiarissimo. (riproduzione riservata)
MF FASHION MAGAZINE
Mffashion.com
By: Fabio Maria Damato
Date: February 13, 2012
De la Renta con un touch Galliano
Sfilata hot ticket per la fashion house americana tra stile ladylike e grandi abiti da sera, pensati per un sontuoso red carpet.
A fine sfiata esce lui, mister Oscar de la Renta. Stretto da due modelle in abiti monumentali, blu elettrico e fucsia, cosparse di fregi dorati. E chiaramente ci si ricorda subito di John Galliano, che dopo l’uscita da Dior è stato invitato per tre settimane a collaborare con la fashion house a stelle e strisce. La sua mano c’è stata? Forse. Ma lo stile ladylike appartiene già al dna de la Renta. Tra abiti stretti in vita, tailleur con linee po’ bar, ricami preziosi e scelte floreali. Arriva il red carpet style, tra sete accese dal colore e décor ipervisivi. Il trucco si incupisce sul finale, le silhouette si allungano. E spunta qualche modella che in effetti era sempre stata una sua prediletta.
Giudizio. Il primo obiettivo è stato sicuramente raggiunto ossia quello di far parlare. Sarà la suggestione, ma un tocco di Galliano sembra esserci. Anche se In effetti, non interessa molto sapere chi abbia disegnato cosa in questa sfilata. Ma magari sarebbe bello capire se questa intesa continuerà, portando a ulteriori sviluppi. (riproduzione riservata)
MF FASHION MAGAZINE
Mffashion.com
By: Fabio Maria Damato
Date: February 13, 2012
Nuova vita cool per Philosophy
Alla creatività debutta Natalie Ratabesi, che modula una femminilità educata con un touch irriverente e grunge.
Beata innocenza. Quella persa per sempre dalla griffe Philosophy, al suo passaggio di testimone da Alberta Ferretti al nuovo direttore creativo Natalie Ratabesi. «Ho voluto preservare e conservare quello spirito femminile e flerty che contraddistingue il marchio da quando è stato fondato. Ma ho cercato di dargli un twist da strada, più metropolitano, da guerriera cittadina», ha spiegato a MFF la designer. Il sapore è in qualche modo 50s, ma irretito da un gusto da Balcani hard rock. Audrey Hepburn meets Axl Rose. Nel contrasto delle gonne a corolla lunghe sotto il ginocchio e di lane croccanti, abbinate alla maglia da front woman operata di perline. E quando diventano di chiffon e bordate da una crinolina sul fondo, sbucano dal biker a stampe ikat sormontato da velli selvaggi. Il punto vita alto e segnato è la chiave della silhouette, sia quando è a clessidra, che asciutta e allungata per i completi tubolari. L’attitude nuova, subito percepita, è meno borghese e genuinamente cool. L’influenza di Ratabesi si sente, crea una donna tosta, cosmopolita con la sua vita in girovagare tra Londra, Parigi e New York, e una passione per mostri sacri della musica come i Guns N’ Roses. L’insieme è pudico e castigato. «Come designer», ha concluso, «ma in particolar modo come donna, mi piace l’idea di un guardaroba scomponibile. Che dia a ogni cliente la possibilità di smontare e rimontare ogni singolo look a piacimento, per adattarsi a personalità e gusti differenti».
Giudizio. Partendo dalla location, la nostalgica Roseland ballroom, passando per la colonna sonora, November rain dei Guns N’ Roses, si percepisce subito una forte inversione di marcia. È tutto preciso, educato, ma con qualche elemento rilassato e sovversivo. La delicatezza di Ratabesi, unita a certi elementi di recupero quasi vintage piace e conquista. I singoli capi sono bei vestiti da desiderare senza riserve. (riproduzione riservata)
MF FASHION MAGAZINE
Mffashion.com
By: Fabio Maria Damato
Date: February 13, 2012
Betsey Johnson rinasce con il suo activewear
Betsey Johnson is back. La designer 70enne torna sulle passerelle newyorkesi con la sua esplosione di energia per presentare la sua nuova collezione di activewear. Una routine di allenamento fashion, probabilmente la stessa pozione magica che ricarica la stilista ad ogni stagione, accende i riflettori su tute giallo fluorescenti e completi gym lucidi & stretch.
Giudizio. Le modelle che utilizzano bottiglie di champagne come pesi e collant come corde di resistenza riflettono l’audace spirito della designer e la sua corsa faticosa nella moda.
La diva vintage di Marc by Marc Jacobs
Capelli vaporosi, come una nuvola su una silhouette allungata. Geometrica, accesa da incastri cromatici e da fantasie ipervisive. Con quel tocco di vintage che non manca da Marc by Marc Jacobs, la linea giovane dello stilista americano che ha compiuto uno switch finale tra le date delle sue sfilate. In scena le sue dive urbane un po’ 70s un po 40s, tra Lauren Bacall e Lauren Hutton ma dal touch edonista anni 80. Tubini printed e pantaloni morbidi alla caviglia, giacconi oversize e mini camicette con tartan. Lunghi capospalla dalle linee importanti e pattern floreali squillanti. Come il rosso che accende i completi, come la seta peccaminosa che trasforma il tailleur.
Giudizio. Sempre molto stylish. Marc Jacobs sembra divertirsi sempre molto con la collezione Marc, creando un universo di ragazze che amano giocare e trasformarsi ogni stagione. Capricciose ma assolutamente cool.
Rodarte e la Emo revolution
Neri fluidi in un groviglio di drapes. La sequenza dei carne resa spigolosa dai cappotti/giacche boyfriend. Una felpa dalla stampa psichedelica, il vestito nudo da ballerina di flamenco Un evening dress in un accrocchio di stampe e pizzi, e poi ancora una maglia dal sapore peruviano. Come successo nelle ultime tre stagioni, la sequenza della sfilata invernale di Rodarte è schizofrenica. L’innocenza di un tempo è perduta per sempre, e in cerca di una nuova identità il marchio di Kate e Laura Mulleavy scopre un sapore Emo, a tratti London punk. Le tracce dell’estetica che ha reso famose le due sorelle californiane a volte si ritrovano, ma il resto è un non sense che brancola nel buio.
Giudizio. Provare ad evolvere il proprio gusto è una prova di coraggio e talento per ogni designer. Esame che le sorelle Mulleavy dovranno superare al più presto per evitare di essere considerate creativamente defunte.
Le donnine snob di Victoria
Victoria Beckham e la passione per gli abitini. A tubo o super striminziti e corti a scoprire le gambe. Di panno di lana tagliati a vivo o nei tessuti tecnici, specie quando diventano un combination di felpa, casacca e gonnellina, che sembra un ensemble ma sono un unico dress cucito insieme. Perché la vera trovata funny della collezione young Victoria by Victoria Beckham sono i completi, non completi, a prima vista composti da più pezzi, ma in realtà assemblati in un unico capo. Belle anche le borse geometriche e gli stivali da cavalcata, meno le décolleté con il tacco tranciato.
Giudizio. Una carrellata di abiti desiderabili da ragazze per bene e pacate. La linea young della Beckham però perde quella leziosità divertita e divertente di un tempo, cedendo il passo a donnine un po’ spocchiose e a tratti boring.
La diva vintage di Marc by Marc Jacobs
Capelli vaporosi, come una nuvola su una silhouette allungata. Geometrica, accesa da incastri cromatici e da fantasie ipervisive. Con quel tocco di vintage che non manca da Marc by Marc Jacobs, la linea giovane dello stilista americano che ha compiuto uno switch finale tra le date delle sue sfilate. In scena le sue dive urbane un po’ 70s un po 40s, tra Lauren Bacall e Lauren Hutton ma dal touch edonista anni 80. Tubini printed e pantaloni morbidi alla caviglia, giacconi oversize e mini camicette con tartan. Lunghi capospalla dalle linee importanti e pattern floreali squillanti. Come il rosso che accende i completi, come la seta peccaminosa che trasforma il tailleur.
Giudizio. Sempre molto stylish. Marc Jacobs sembra divertirsi sempre molto con la collezione Marc, creando un universo di ragazze che amano giocare e trasformarsi ogni stagione. Capricciose ma assolutamente cool.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Telegraph.co.uk
By: Luke Leitch
Date: February 13, 2013
New York Fashion Week: Michael Kors autumn/winter 2013
American designer Michael Kors presented a vast, energetic collection which will no doubt help catapult him into the billionaires’ league.
“You are fast-paced, athletic and chic!” So read the backstage model-prompt-board at the Kors catwalk start-line this morning. It was a brief the models fulfilled with brio, nattily lapping the Lincoln Center circuit at top trot speed.
Yet in the fast-paced stakes none compare with Michael Kors himself. Less than two years since his company floated, Forbes magazine this week estimated Kors’ personal stock has reached $950 million. Today he jogged his finale – with barely the slightest of pauses to grin at Michael Douglas and Hilary Swank on his front row – like a man determined to round that figure up.
This enormous collection – several season’s worth packed into a twenty minute blur – suggested billionaire status could be just nano seconds away.
Camouflage and houndstooth were blown-up then remixed in looks that veered from casual-futuristic (big tinted visors over ostentatiously techno-seamed egg-yolk yellow and black separates, silver quilt-effect leather on chest panel of a hard-edged black leather skirt) to mid-century demure (a great houndstooth stole over a black fitted sheath dress, a pale grey tweedy scoop-neck pencil skirt suit). Kors’ closing few looks – tight black bodies worn atop huge, jewel-toned skirt-cum-trains – had a definite spring /summer Dior-ishness to them. The undeniable potency of an only half-zipped zipper on a black leather skirt was deployed with total ruthlessness, while clean, pumped up tailoring in that eggy yellow, orange and sapphire blue against a black backdrop were the good-girl options. Kors had something for everyone: he’s surely a billionaire-to-be.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Telegraph.co.uk
By: Luke Leitch
Date: February 13, 2013
New York Fashion Week: The front row no-show
When snowstorm Nemo froze Luke Leitch out of New York Fashion Week he was forced to attend the shows virtually and came by one of the best seats in the house.
On the front rows of the international women’s fashion shows, nearly every fashion editor dresses up to the nines. It’s part of the job. But not for me. After all, I’m just a man – so jeans, passable shoes, a clean shirt and maybe a jacket are all the attire required to rub (sharp) shoulders with some of the world’s most judgmental professional dressers.
Yet until this week, I would never have dared cover the catwalk outfitted in board shorts bright enough to make even Boris Johnson blanch. This, though, was precisely what I wore to watch Alexander Wang on Saturday – perhaps the most painfully hip, hotly anticipated collection in all of New York this week.
And nobody raised a solitary, perfectly plucked eyebrow. Emboldened, I watched Belstaff’s beautiful collection of biker-inspired coats in my pyjamas, took in Tommy Hilfiger’s collegiate preppiness in between press-ups, and considered Carolina Herrera’s giddy blur of dyed fur and lively socialites while eating an excellent kebab.
No make-up make-up prevails at New York Fashion Week
This was not a very public breakdown, but the consequence of what the US news channels called “a weather event”. For when the snowstorm Nemo saw my flight delayed by 48 hours – a lag so long it would have left barely anything to report in time for today’s deadline – Lisa Armstrong commanded me to get with the 21st century. I would, she decreed, report on New York via new media instead.
Only three years ago, this would have been impossible. But during the past few seasons, the once-shuttered world of high fashion has thrown open its doors to the digital revolution. Now, almost every collection is “streamed” live over internet (you can see New York’s at newyork.mbfashionweek.com), photographers instantly upload their catwalk shots and, thanks to snaps from their smartphones, even the designers themselves grant their social media “friends” backstage previews once only afforded only to the privileged few.
At the American designer Kenneth Cole’s show last Thursday, even the models were checking their phones as they showed off his clothes. Whereas before barely 200 people witnessed any one show, there’s now no limit to how large an audience can see their (pixelated) peplums.
All the latest from New York Fashion Week autumn/winter 2013
This is a trend that began here, when the British Fashion Council started streaming London Fashion Weeks shows in 2010. Burberry has been fashion’s most fanatically future-facing house, offering everyone and anyone the chance not only to see the show, but to purchase the clothes, Ocado click-to-buy style, direct from the catwalk as well. Now Topshop is upgrading its digital experience even further.
Its Unique collection show at London Fashion Week – start time, 3pm next Sunday – has been produced in partnership with Google. Every fashion angle has been mined; users of the Google+ social network can enjoy a “hangout” with the designers in their studio before the show, comment on the collection in advance, and – as they watch the stream – do a job once reserved for highly paid department-store buyers by crowd-sourcing their favourite looks.
The show will be available on more digital platforms than Cornish pasties are on real ones. You’ll even be able enjoy a model’s-eye view thanks to tiny digital cameras implanted into the outfits worn by Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn as they download themselves up the Topshop catwalk.
If you thought all this sounds like a marketing ploy, you’d be right. This week, however, thanks to Nemo, I’ve discovered that attending the shows via broadband really can compare to being there in person. In some ways, it’s better. Watching that Wang collection from my Kilburn kitchen, I could not only see colleagues in the crowd (the Telegraph Magazine’s fashion director, Daniela Agnelli, was enjoyably alarmed when I texted her a description of her outfit), but I had a far better view via iPad and Galaxy Note than they did as eyewitnesses.
The cameras swooped around Wang’s models, offering excellent, multi-angle visual access to his drop-waisted overcoats and alpaca hoodies. I couldn’t pick up the detail – the leg-warmers over heels and slingback sandals over socks entirely passed me by – but the gist was eminently visible. Even tweeting the show was possible – by capturing the best stills from the film and pinging them straight online – a nerdy tactic that Wang, who designs for the Korean technology titan Samsung as well as for the French fashion house Balenciaga, would surely have approved of.
It got better. At Rag & Bone’s show, there was excellent coverage of its aviation- inspired panelled minidresses and (thanks to a particularly assiduous director) repeated, lingering views of the models’ stocking tops. As the designer Marcus Wainwright said afterwards (on the phone): “In some ways, seeing the stream is purer than sitting through the show experience in person – you miss the music, the venue, the crowd and the beer – so you just concentrate on the clothes.”
Stars on the front row
Some shows, though, proved more challenging: Victoria Beckham doesn’t stream her collection, but thanks to Instagram and a live photostream from the New York Times, I saw every look within moments of it hitting the runway, and even knew to the second when David took his seat. A quick phone call instead of the usual in-person crush backstage supplied the designer’s view.
All from my kitchen, I discovered designers whose shows we normally never get the chance to attend: Manhattan traffic and a 100-plus collection schedule means you have to cherry-pick the collections. Online, you can binge on fashion unobstructed. So now I know that Mara Hoffman (available on net-a-porter.com) makes interesting, Talitha Getty-worthy prints; Venexiana creates compelling evening gowns for edgier red- carpet girls; Ruffian (terrible name) is quite good; and that Betsey Johnson’s clothes are as barmy as she is.
Watching the shows this way is no substitute for New York in the flesh – Marc Jacobs’s backstage interviews are a priceless, as-yet-undigitised experience; there’s no chance to talk to John Galliano (rumoured to be taking a bow at Oscar de la Renta’s show at 1am GMT this morning), and nobody tweets the truly juicy gossip. It’s also impossible to find good streams of the presentations (though Kate Spade’s bubble-gum saccharine, polka-dot collection looked fun).
After a season or so, following the collections exclusively online wouldn’t work for fashion editors. However smart your smartphone, being there physically will never be rendered obsolete. Yet in a pinch, going digital works: you get to see the clothes, and all without running the gauntlet of Manhattan’s most moronic security guards, geographically challenged cab drivers, and obdurate clipboard-wielding PRs. Best of all, it’s all achievable wearing only your underwear.
This time next week, Team Telegraph will be bringing you the lowdown – in the flesh – from all the must-see new-season shows in London. But if you’ve ever hankered to catch the view from the front row for yourself, just follow our guide.
From Friday, fashion.telegraph.co.uk will report on all the London shows as they happen, and showing streams of our pick of the collections.
To see even more, visit londonfashionweek.co.uk for a full schedule of show streams.
And to keep up with the fashion-week phone snaps and chit-chat – a great deal of which is vacuous exclamation marks – search for #LFW on Twitter and Instagram
THE GUARDIAN
Guardian.co.uk
By: Jess Cartner-Morley
Date: February 13, 2013
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/fashion/2013/feb/13/new-york-fashion-week-eight-trends
New York fashion week: eight trends to take home
Layering is back, beanies are big, matchy-matchy just got matchy-matchier and burgundy, we mean ‘madder carmine’, is everywhere: just a snippet of what we’ve learned from the collections in New York.
When New York fashion week controversially upped and moved its position in the catwalk season running order, so that rather than happening after London, Milan and Paris it took an early slot before any of the others, the idea was to give the city’s fashion scene some breathing space out of the shadow of Europe. No longer could London claim New York was copying its ideas; no longer would buyers arrive weary.
It was a good plan, and for many seasons it worked; this week, however, it backfired. New York isn’t over. Shows go on until late Thursday. But so far, despite some strong shows and very nice clothes, it has felt like a cocktail party that passes without incident, ending with taxis called at a civilised hour rather than a highly charged all-back-to-mine rave-up.
A few examples: Alexander Wang’s show was strong, but the drop-waists and softly voluminous silhouettes – along with the choice of the ticketing hall of the Cunard building as a venue – framed it clearly as a precursor to Wang’s much-anticipated debut at Balenciaga next week, more a wave to Paris than a bow to New York. And then there was Oscar de la Renta, colossus of American fashion, whose show was dominated by chatter about his infamous intern from across the Atlantic, John Galliano. More than anything else, the rescheduling of Marc Jacobs’ mainline show to a graveyard slot on Valentine’s night – a delay caused by the non-arrival of fabrics following the Nemo blizzard – set the week off-kilter, as if someone had moved Christmas Day to 30 December at a few days’ notice, leaving you unsure when to don your party hats and pull your crackers.
There was something inevitable about the fact that the undisputed model of the week was a Brit. If there’s one thing you need to do to be on-trend right now, it is to become obsessed with Cara Delevingne, whose caterpillar eyebrows stomped down almost every catwalk this week. With a Twitter feed featuring snaps of her snogging Rita Ora and eating packets of Monster Munch, she did her level best to liven up New York.
The next big thing: Menswear fabrics
Last season’s big womenswear noise was around a mannish silhouette; for autumn, it’s all about menswear fabrics. Tommy Hilfiger gave preppy style a kooky Hogwarts twist by layering up houndstooth, Prince of Wales checks, and pinstripes. See also: windowpane plaid at Victoria Beckham and Philip Lim, houndstooth at Thom Browne, herringbone at DKNY and J Crew.
The comeback: Layering
Remember how we were all, “layering’s so over, it’s all about the crisp simple pieces”? Well, scratch that. Your outfit isn’t happening unless there’s a shirt collar and tails poking out at neckline and cuff (just one symptom of the general Céline-ification of the modern runway). This is Philip Lim; for a cuter, cleaner take on the same idea see J Crew.
The accessory: The beanie
It felt symptomatic of the way this New York fashion week never quite caught fire that the much-hyped grunge revival was not as clear a catwalk trend as expected. The exception was the beanie, the undisputed catwalk and streetstyle key look of the week, seen everywhere from Victoria by Victoria Beckham to Tommy Hilfiger.
The retro trend: 70s glam
“It’s not about going to a party, it’s about life as a party,” said Diane von Fürstenberg backstage. Who’s going to argue with that? Von Fürstenberg and Marc by Marc Jacobs both reached back to a glorious era of NYC history, the late 70s, to inject some feelgood rock’n'roll glamour into the week.
The new matchy-matchy: Matchy-matchy-matchy-matchy
Seriously. At DKNY, a pink-tinged leopard sweater was worn with a skirt, bag and shoes – all in the same print. Fashion is about finding new ways to make matching modern, right now. At J Crew there was a new kind of trouser suit: matching sleek, tailored tracksuit bottoms and sweatshirt in upscale fabric. Just don’t call it a tracksuit.
The silhouette: The round shoulder
If you change one thing, change this: the sharp shoulder is dead. It doesn’t really matter whether you take the Alexander Wang route (a Paul Poiret, kimono-ish silhouette) or the sportier, DKNY/Victoria Beckham/J Crew raglan sleeve route. What matters is that the shoulder is soft and rounded, not Gaga-sharp. Got it?
The name to drop: Thom Browne
He is known for two fashion moments: instigating the cropped-trouser trend as a hipster-menswear motif, and dressing Michelle Obama in a necktie-inspired dress for the inauguration. His show this season confounded those who expected him to use the inauguration as a commercial springboard: all exaggerated silhouettes and theatrics, it was bonkers and utterly brilliant.
The new phrase: Madder carmine
I won’t lie, I had to look it up. Turns out, madder carmine is a purplish red. In the parlance of the British school uniform, we know it as burgundy. Burgundy is making an early attempt to oust navy this season, cropping up everywhere from Victoria by Victoria Beckham to Diane von Fürstenberg.