Tommy Hilfiger Spring/Summer 2016.

 09/14/2015.

Tommy Hilfiger Spring/Summer 2016.

Tommy Bahama. Tommy Hilfiger went to the islands, specifically those of the Caribbean, for Spring 2016, and created a lively, jaunty, upbeat collection that didn't so much as push any envelopes as much as define Hilfiger's easy, casual, preppy chic vibe, now on vacation, in Jamaica it would seem, since Bob Marley was the inspiration of the day. Let's be frank, Hilfiger didn't progress deeper into any high end niche here, it was a patently commercial and risk-free endeavour that would satisfy young and old alike but isn't going to wow anyone with ambitions of setting the night on fire with serious fashion. Hilfiger could do more to step out of his box, but when you have a winning formula as he does, why mess with a good thing? Well.. The answer might be that familiarity breeds surefire contempt and Hilfiger, as with this admittedly vibrant yet, unfailingly safe collection, didn't raise the pulse rate of anyone partaking, and it was uncategorically, boring. Some letting go of his proscribed ideas might yield a Hilfiger collection that looks more suited to Fashionistas and not the contemporary casual floor of Macy's. 

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Carolina Herrera Spring/Summer 2016.

09/14/2016.

Carolina Herrera Spring/Summer 2016.

The Frick Gallery and Carolina Herrera... A perfect match, would you not say? Before the Era of Wes was ushered in in all of it's majesty, Ms. Herrera herself was still a powerhouse of a designer with one eye always on the now and one on the elegant and richesse clientele who she clothed in her couture worthy finery for over 35 years. Spring 2016 was just such a prime example or Ms. Herrera's incredibly articulate and focused view of fashion that straddled both the Upper East Side and the more downtown environs. Staging it at the Frick, which was the first time such an auspicious event had ever taken place there, was a stroke of brilliance. The synergy of space and show was a brilliant and unexpectedly natural homogeneous conception, and Ms. Herrera took full advantage of the situation and created a collection that was current and modern without losing any of Herrera's tony uptown elegant swag. 

Elegance this time around, however, did not mean staidness or rigidity and refusal of what is swirling in the ceaseless eddies of the fashion tide. Herrera never follows the current, but neither is she insolently pushing against it either. So, to that end, Herrera injected some scintillation into her collection that she slyly referred to as her "Rose Period" via slivers of skin peeking through the sheer inserts and solid on sheer overlays that abounded in the collection and added a sincere frisson of simmering sexuality to the cultivated and refined attitude that suffuses Herrera's work. This was gleefully compounded by the refreshing and energetic usage of Pink throughout the collection, which in Herrera's able and facile hands never seemed twee or saccharine. One Bougainvillea Pink stunner was decorated by White Neoprene flowers down it's front was a captivator from top to bottom. Also a winner of epic proportions was a Navy masterpiece (Navy was a brilliant contrapuntal choice to all the rosy shades on display) interspliced with narrow panels of sheer mesh that was a Mic Drop moment to be sure. 

All the usual trademarks of the Herrera DNA were on display and tweaked, controverted and reconfigured into new permutations that pleased the old and satisfied the new. Herrera has not been in business as long as she has if she didn't sway like a bendable Willow in the nonstop and everchanging breezes of fashion. She has navigated those winds of change like the unswayable stalwart professional and regal force of nature that she is, this collection was a unassailable testimony to how Ms. Herrera can stand on the Terra Firma of her brand yet be absolutely and wildly inquisitive and curious as to what is and not what was. That kind of flexibility is key to surmounting the whiplash inducing changes that define fashion, and Herrera possesses that quality inherently, and it served her exceptionally well this time as it has time and time again in her illustrious and sterling career.

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Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2016.

09/14/2015.

Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2016.

It is never a good thing when designers over develop their ideas for a collection by latching on to too many disparate and esoteric elements, without the strong conviction of thought to pull all those threads together into a tapestry that is altogether coherent and wondrous. Humberto Leon and Carol Lim tried to achieve this lofty ambition and unfortunately, failed. In some aspects... dismally so. Taking the rather challenging inspirè of Frank Llyod Wright as their jumping off point, they didn't convincingly weave together a collection worthy of bearing any comparison to anything that Awe-Inspiring master ever would have wrought forth. It was all over the place, and for a fashion collection, that's something you truly don't want to ever have to say. To say Lim and Leon presented a directionless outing would be mayhaps an overstatement, but it was not a cohesive or fully thought out collection and followed too many paths that did not work in harmony with one another. COULD one pick out a high point or two... hmmmmm... Yes, but to what end!? It wasn't a successful showing in the whole, as some pieces did look desirable, and for that reason, it wasn't a surefire disaster, not even close, but it was not in any way a triumph. 

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Jonathan Simkhai Spring/Summer 2016.

09/13/2015.

Jonathan SImkhai Spring/Summer 2016.

Mothers and Grandma's usually say, "If you haven't anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" an axiom that in the case of Jonathan Simkhai's over designed and bewildering Spring '16 collection would seem to be apt. Also apropo, "The less said, the better" The collection stumbled out of the blocks and only got more tacky, tasteless and confusingly Arty and Crafty from there, from the unfortunate midriff baring ensembles to the boxy and unfailingly unflattering cuts, to some God Awful design choices (oversized White Rickrack trim? Really?) Simkhai seemed to not know which direction to steer his craft, and in the end, capsized in the middle of treacherous waters and drowned under his own heavy handed excess. With nearly nary a buoy to offer any respite from the cavalcade of quizzically flamboyant fare on display, it was hard to find any moment as a touchstone to save the mess from being a complete and total failure. It was a disaster, from stem to stern. 

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Prabal Gurung Spring/Summer 2016.

09/14/2015.

Prabal Gurung Spring/Summer 2016.

One might have wished that the praying monks, at the beginning of the show, prayers had been more for Prabal Gurung's Spring 2016 collection to be a better outing than it turned out to be. Instead, the uneven collection veered from eccentric overindulgence to shapeless and unflattering design and sometimes, all at once. Gurung gleaned inspiration from Nepalese artist Laxman Shreshtha and the Hindu celebration Holi in his colour palette, to little effect on the figure widening shapes he paraded down his catwalk. No woman wants to wear a piece of clothing that looks, unsuccessfully, like it's hiding excess poundage, yet, Gurung's sack like silhouettes did exactly that, even on the rail thin models wearing them. 

When Gurung did tighten up his silhouettes he reaped far more illustrious dividends, key examples, the pair of bias Chiffon gowns in palest Apricot Pink and Butter Yellow were marvels of sinuous ease and glamour. Save the finale trio of gowns and a couple of other successes, Gurung delivered a showing that was far from his best effort and one that needed far more intention of thought and greater degree of execution to make it soar to the lofty heights that Gurung was hoping perhaps to scale. 

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Edun Spring/Summer 2016.

09/14/2015.

Edun Spring/Summer 2016.

Ali Hewson and her famous husband, U2 frontman, Bono, have dedicated themselves to making sustainable fashion a thing that not only is fashionable, but fashion forward as well, enlisting Danielle Sherman to execute her vision through their altruistic prism. With all the clothes made on the African continent and using sustainable materials and native artisans and handwork, the collection is not only a step in so many right directions, but a beacon of what truly can be achieved in the fashion industry when one tries to make a real impact and difference. 

That however, in the wrong hands, does not always translate into great fashion, and while Sherman had some highs in the collection that elevated it into a very stylish stratosphere, the collection, inspired in equal parts by the ceremonial dance costumes of the Kuba Kingdom and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, a Dadaist performance artist from the 30's, was uneven and unduly repetitive and drab. Save some punches of Orange and Red, the collection veered into the maudlin colour-wise, which failed to elevate the boxy and oft times, shapeless silhouettes beyond the mundane or even worse, swung towards a more hayseed unsophistication. 

One could appreciate what Sherman was trying to achieve, she just didn't achieve it in a way that made one think twice about what one had seen presented. If not, forgettable, the collection was certainly not, memorable. 

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Diane Von Furstenberg Spring/Summer 2016.

 09/14/2015.

Diane Von Furstenberg Spring/Summer 2016.

It's notable to say that at the time of this show in 2015, that DVF was in the midst of celebrating the 40th anniversary of her introduction of the highly recognizable and world changing Wrap Dress she created. So, in that celebratory mood, one could have only expected a High-Energy and joyfully upbeat and optimistic collection, and one would have not been at all disappointed in that expectation. Seriously pretty and feminine colours, saucy sexiness and a lot of wrapping were the most obvious hallmarks, as well as a effortless and breezy 70's Studio 54 vibe that was articulated with uncommon facility, due perhaps to the singular fact that most of that vibe that was created during that time was accomplished due to the fashions DVF set upon the world stage in the era. So, a backwards glance at her own work but not in a referential way, instilled the collection with a brilliant sense of "Flashback" but not in a nostalgic or sentimental way. The feeling was very much of it's moment, yet suffused with a knowing wink to her own history.

Von Fusrtenberg has always had a sure and steady hand with prints and this collection, named "Fortvna" after the Roman Goddess of the same name, was replete with beautiful mish-mashes and patchworking together of beautifully eye-catching prints. From Karlie Kloss' opening number in two differing prints to the delicately naïf Butterfly print that appeared early on a milky White background and at the conclusion of the show in Black. Aside from the prints, the hothouse colours were also joyously buoyant and reached a high water mark in Tami Williams' exit, which also embodied the Goddess aspect of the collection in spades, a draped Goldenrod and Hot Pink crepe/chiffon number that moved like flowing water over Williams' lithe frame. 

DVF put forth an assured and highly desirable collection that touched heavily on her own past and history yet never referentially so, it always felt in this moment, which then gave it a modernity without veering too far from what DVF is known for. No one is expecting Von Furstenberg to reinvent her own wheel, when the wheel is doing pretty damn fine just as it is, but a gentle tweaking and advancing of those tropes is exactly the right tack to take and Von Furstenberg showed a steady and confident hand in updating her own invention to the current mode, and in doing so, keeps her label fresh and relevant. This collection was prime example of why Von Furstenberg has been around in this arena for 40 years!

That's All.

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