Co Spring/Summer 2016.

Tues. 09/15/2015.

Co Spring/Summer 2016.

There was a charming and rather palpable energy and feeling of the fashions of the 60's in California permeating the Spring/Summer 2016 collection from designers Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern for their label Co, one that suggested Mia Farrow, Jean Seberg and Jane Birkin, short, sassy and chic in all the best possible imaginings. From swingy Trapeze coats to prim and naif Peter Pan collars to the abbreviated hemlines, everything looked bathed in the light of the Mod generation made current. In their brief and finely edited collection, Danan and Kern said quite a lot with quite a little, it was all easily and sumptuously wearable, and oozed style. 

Noteworthy offerings, a chic, mod, patch pocket hidden button short suit in Cream that had Mainbocher written all over it, yet rendered in modern form, or a Peter Pan collared Jackie O A-Line coat in the same shade of Cream that was as effortlessly cool as the velvety colour was warm! Danan and Kern leaned into a chic and elegant vibe that served them exceptionally well and showed their technical skills and prowess were not to be questioned, and within that, extracted a collection from them that was classic, yet modern and spectacularly attractive!

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Zero + Maria Cornejo Spring/Summer 2016.

Tues. 09/15/2015.

Zero + Maria Cornejo Spring/Summer 2016.

Minimalism, It's a word fraught with connotations of austerity and to put it quite bluntly, boredom, and in the less masterful hands of an amateur, it can come off as exactly that and worse, dull. Maria Cornejo is no such amateur. Her Spring 2016 collection was a far reaching example of how to do minimal, right, and not to come across as either boring or anesthetized to the point of anodyne. Her major play, firstly, was to limit the color palette to simple, almost brushstroke like blocks of neutral colours, Black, White, Navy, Grey and a toasty Beige, then for a small "Wow" moment. literal brushstrokes in an oversized colourful motif that was used judiciously and added just that right amount of curveball to the otherwise restrained offerings. 

Secondly, Cornejo also kept any trickiness and overtly "Fashion-y" ideas at bay, not to say the collection was plain, indeed it was anything but, however, it was wearable and approachable, even if it had a more arty bent to it. With a more pared back colour aesthetic on display, it was a move that highlighted just how imaginative a collection this was without a lot of extrovert bells and whistles to catch the eye. Standouts included a stunning White duster backed in Navy over a fluid and limpid Navy ensemble at look No. 3, whilst a deceptively simple Snow White jumpsuit was artistically draped and innovatively constructed at look No. 14. 

Cornejo is always best when doing her own thing, and this season she swept new life into the atelier and studio by having fresh blood infused with an all new studio team, it showed. There was a freshness and a newly calibrated sense of excitement and discovery to this collection, which while it also adhered to Cornejo's core principles, it also felt as if she was pushing herself to find new things to interest her and match those up to her fashion ideology. Frankly, it was quite a success. 

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Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2016.

Tues. 09/15/2015.

Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2016.

Thom Browne does not do things in an understated manner. His ideas are as lofty and singularly unique as his bombastic and oft over the top presentations. This Spring outing for 2016 did not, in any configuration, shy away from that aesthetic at all. It was a uncompromising and one could say, even for all it's inventiveness and whimsy, a rather narrowly, yet effective, exercise in tedious redundancy. Browne is a master at developing an idea and seeing it through in every possible permutation, to the point of obsessive compulsion that blots out any kind of individual discussion and focuses on a central idea with no room for discourse. Browne presents an idea and laser focuses on that idea until he has exhausted the source material until it's a empty husk and then moves on to the next idea. In saying all that, there, in execution and conceptual output, is a continuity of form and idea that permeates all his collections, a signature leitmoitv, in the style of Wagnerian opera. This collection was no different, you can spot a Thom Browne silhouette and garment from a country mile away and that is why perhaps his oeuvre is so intriguing, for it is spectacular in it's tunnel vision-like oneness, yet it is also in that deeply singular style, impossible to not recognize. 

So, to go into intricate, and extensive analysis of a Thom Browne collection is a definitive indulgence in futility, for Browne earmarks his collections as a one-dimensional treatise into the mind of Thom Browne with no deviation from the path. SOOOO, what was the message this time around? With the school desks and pleated skirts, we were in the slightly fetishistic and symbolically prim world of Japanese school girls. How Browne executed that reference into a compelling fashion narrative, was embodied by heaps and heaps of technique served up with a generously lavish hand and tons of surface interest and Trick-The-Eye applications. Motifs of symbolic Japonica were in full flower, from Geisha's and Mount Fuji to Sakura blossoms, all executed in masterful techniques of patching, embroidery, and more. That every exit was a Jacket/Pleated skirt (with or without a topper surmounting it) combo aided in giving one a heaping eyeful of visual indigestion, was the drawback of such elaborate and intricate application of embellishment and technical prowess. There wasn't a single moment of optical relief and the collaging and piling on of more and more as the collection progressed on, seemed to overload the senses, even with it all being quite ecstatically exquisite, and made the viewer wish for a palate cleanser of some sort to break up the insurmountable monotony. 

Browne's collection was by no means a failure or even a repetitive headache, but it was certainly a ceaseless bounty of similarity that congested the eye with a non-stop cavalcade of redundancy, and with all it's beauty and tricks, still left one not satiated and in need of a visual Pepto-Bismol. 

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Adeam Spring/Summer 2016.

Mon. 09/14/2015.

Adeam Spring/Summer 2016.

Modernity and Tradition in a mash-up of design aesthetic and heritage, that was the collection Hanako Maeda presented for her wonderfully considered and intelligently cross-pollinated Spring collection that touched, deeply, upon her Japanese heritage with a fully committed deep dive reconsideration of the Kimono, yet was fully entrenched in the modern application of the design ethos of said garment. Most of the collection had a breathy, languid fluidity that adapted the Obi, most of all, into it's designs but also had a sweeping, quasi-romantic drama that still maintained a city-wise smartness that never once bordered on traditional dress or more importantly, costume. Etched out in mainly Black and White with some touches of a deep Teal or muted Cinnabar or, for a more striking effect, a Flamboyante Cayenne Red, that then got toned down to a much richer and more regal Lacquer Red (especially effective as a body crossing satin accent on a Black two piece evening number) Maeda kept her focus steely and narrow as to not confuse the message she was trying to convey, which was one of ease, but with immense depth. 

For all the influence of the Kimono/Obi, it was when Maeda distilled the essence of those ideas, and simplified to the most ascetic degree, that her clothes shined the brightest and had the highest of impacts, as in the case of an exquisite Teal coat with Black blouson sleeves or a scintillating pure White coat touched with the deepest and most intense Emerald Green at the collar in a sumptuously rich satin. Maeda struck just the right note of the fantastical and wearable that most designers often miss by a country mile, the collection was seductive with it's obvious and celebratory Eastern flavour, but also was grounded enough to appeal to anyone wanting a bit more artistic flair and fancy to their garments, it's a tricky walk to walk, but Maeda seemed to do it effortlessly and with plenty of aplomb. 

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3.1 Phillip Lim Spring/Summer 2016.

Mon. 09/14/2015. 

3.1 Phillip Lim Spring/Summer 2016.

A Mixed Bag. Phillip Lim's Spring 2016 collection on the whole was a worthwhile excursion into some pretty fashion territory, but was a bit scattered and all over the place and definitely had some unfortunate sartorial moments that came off as clumsy and maladroit amongst the primarily fine collection. Skipping past the better left undiscussed source material for the collection that involved dirt and compost (so much so that Lim had mounds of it on the runway... Pardon?) Lim presented a collection that was in places incredibly delightful and presented a unique and artsy vision of romantic/sportif dressing that had some interesting and memorable high moments juxtaposed against some seriously head scratching design choices in some exits. 

On the whole, this was a modernistic yet poetically lyrical treatise by Lim, one that mined gold in the less fussy and overworked nooks and crannies, because it was quite over designed in many ways. In fact the most successfully wrought outfit was a diaphanous yet substantial White Pinstripe storm coat paired with Black leggings and a sportif White Organza top. Flirting the line between athletic and poetic, the outfit was the apotheosis of Lim's aesthetic and extolled the best virtues of the showing. 

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Yeohlee Spring/Summer 2016.

 Tues. 09/15/2015.

Yeohlee Spring/Summer 2016.

Simple. Such a innocent word. Simple, however, can be an exceptionally powerful word in the hands of someone who respects the word and can wrought forth such majestic ideas from such a little word. Yeohlee Tang is such a magician. Her collection for Spring 2016 was nothing more so than a continuation of her aesthetic of artistic simplicity and of elaborate ideas rendered with absolute ease. The short and impactive collection really had no theme deeper than geometry and math, un-simple things, true, but in the right hands can illicit exemplary results. 

As this collection was brief, this review shall be as such, not every woman radiates to the kind of fashion that Tang produces, there's an intellectual and esoteric bent to her clothes that is as much about mental gymnastics if not quite sartorial ones. In simplicity lies an incredible amount of artistry, a Black Faille shift, a rounded Camel coat, a Navy cap sleeve chemise, all, more eloquent and intricate than their apparent austere naturalness belies. Yeohlee is a modernist in every sense of the word, but her modern aesthetic does nothing to deny the inherent appeal of her minimalist nature. 

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Rosetta Getty Spring/Summer 2016.

09/14/2015.

Rosetta Getty Spring/Summer 2016.

Rosetta Getty had the good fortune of being at the museum that bears her familial name as it was prepping an installation of Yvonne Rainer's "Dances and Films" as she was in the midst of finding her direction for her Spring/Summer 2016 collection, and Rainer's exploration of Modern Dance informed Getty's superbly fluid and sensual, sublime collection. Getty presented a collection full of limpid, liquid pieces that accentuated the dance motif she was aping, in literal and more figurative fashion. Getty's ethereal touch was highlighted by her usage of the highest caliber of fabrications, from a cape sleeved Black Georgette gown that was uncommonly diaphanous to a densely textured yet gauzy White Viscose. 

Getty's subdued colour palette served to exemplify just how artistic and subtlely bold her collection was by not fussing it up with an abundance of flashy hues, Cream, White, Navy, Spice, Spruce, even the floral-y print she used was not ostentatious in it's execution. Getty's sublime collection struck a superb balance between the functional and the artistic that was never heavy handed or overtly intricate. Yes, it was abundantly unique and interesting. Getty showed how assured her hand was in a collection that could have easily and quickly gone off the rails into a costume drama and instead played out as a as a modern and esoteric dialogue on eccentricity.

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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!

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Tracy Reese Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.

Tracy Reese Spring/Summer 2016.

Tracy Reese took a newly bold and adventurous approach to her dazzling and eclectic Spring '16 collection that was a total home run in the sense of boldness and excitement and a much needed and progressive move forward into more experimental and forward thinking fashion. Where as in the past, there has been a pronounced romantic and vintage-y vibe being mined chez Maison Reese, here that vibe was evident still, signature style and all, but it was focused through a now more current and even avant lens that added a serious amount of vigour and renewed energy to her flirtatious and retro looks. 

Boldness was a key word for the day as was fearless, Reese delivered more punch in both the hues on display and the styling of the looks, there was this season, a something of a Mad Max meets Bohemienne flavour, romantic yet tough as nails. It was a striking and odd synthesis that never once faltered or failed,. each exit seemed to be telling a page from a greater, yet purposely enigmatic tale. A truly loud look of a flou rich Aqua maxi dress surmounted by a filmy gauzy layer of whisper light Lace in the same shade was casual and romance laden without being treacly or wan. A trio of Greens, comprising a sturdy trench coat that was rendered in a delicate Lace and paired with bermudas and a low bateau neck top underneath had a serious urban streetwear vibe but felt relaxed and upbeat, not like a forbidding armor to shield oneself. 

As for Reese's always assured and unwavering hand in evening, partake of a throwback glamourous look in fishtail skirted White Lace that would look equally as stunning on someone like Charlize Theron or Jean Harlow. Or, the peak of offhanded luxe, a drapey Gunmetal sequined top worn over a brocaded fishtail skirt that reeked of modern Hollywood, but again, was working a serious tough, yet chic groove. In the end, Reese gave us a command performance of impeccable and faultless modernity swathed in her signature romance that never once felt like she was compromising who she really is or paying empty hearted obeisance to current trends and fads. In that sense, her collection while wholly and resolutely of the minute, was also unerringly timeless, a tricky balancing act to be sure, yet one Reese accomplished swimmingly and with apparent gusto! 

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Rachel Zoe Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.

Raachel Zoe Spring/Summer 2016.

Rachel Zoe is gonna be Rachel Zoe, no matter what! She knows what she likes and she knows how to design the best and most persuasive versions of those things. Her vision is unwavering, though not rigid, and that is why her collections usually are always if not groundbreaking, great showcases of the evolution of singular ideas that define the Rachel Zoe aesthetic. Spring/Summer 2016 was no exception and cemented as it does in perpetuity, how Zoe sees herself and her woman. She's a mix of Ali McGraw and Bianca Jagger with a definite cupful of California Surfer girl thrown in. Yet, this girl is the apotheosis of this idea, not an amalgam, in the end, Rachel Zoe's woman, is Zoe herself, quintessential L.A. but with a NY state of mind. 

Her Spring '16 collection was chock full of luscious and sexy offerings for the Modern It Girl, from flowing layers and bohemienne dresses to outright sexy yet, restrained and elegant glam. Zoe isn't pushing any envelopes, and really in the end, it would be definitely to her own enrichment as a designer to step away from her tried and true formulas and extend herself in more risky ways. As it lays, her output is predictable, yet it is so honed and laser focused that it's hard to find flaw with it. Hopefully, in the future, Zoe will step out of her comfort zone and do something totally outside herself, it may just pay off richer dividends in the end. 

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Elie Tahari Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.

Elie Tahari Spring/Summer 2016.

Elie Tahari floaty and bohemian Spring 2016 collection looked like it was surely on it's way to Burning Man or Coachella but was destined to be adorned by the mother or Uptown Hippie aunt of the younger person they were tagging along with. It was a sophisticated, and pretty collection rendered in almost exclusively shades of White, Black and Taupe. It wasn't groundbreaking by any sense, but it was a romantic and enchanting vision of the Uptown urban nomad, not one so much of the Chelsea or Soho set, but more like the less rich inhabitants of the Upper West Side. A beautiful and wafting opening number in White was perhaps the best outfit in the show, everything else had a distinct flavour of "Been There" Tahari isn't known for breaking boundaries and pushing himself to the extreme of his capabilities, he doesn't have to, he has a huge Well-Heeled clientele all over the world and doesn't need to rock the boat, this collection for him was a step outside his comfort zone and felt like a move in the right direction, but ultimately, it looked too much still like the wardrobe that was in the pages of fashion magazines in the 90's and not of this moment, and not of the moment in 2015 when it was shown for 2016. Timeless can be good, but stuck in time is a totally different animal. 

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Derek Lam Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.

Derek Lam Spring/Summer 2016.

A wholly eclectic sensibility suffused Derek Lam's uncharacteristically quirky and offbeat collection that was inspired by a documentary about the tragic chanteuse and pianist, Nina Simone. This impetus infused the collection with a more free handed and outwardly exuberant spirit than may be more used to by Lam, owing to the fact that Ms. Simone was something of a extrovert persona. In many ways, this enhanced Lam's usual urban and polished sportif edge with a interesting aura of the Bohemian, but in a few ways, it muddled his usually concise vision. In the best of the collection, Lam provided the ingredients he always has an abundantly deft hand at manipulating into the most deliciously tasty concoctions, Smooth fluid belted trench coats, sleek tailoring and romantic evening wear with an ever so slight sheen of the hippie, but a lot of that got, unfortunately, lost in the shuffle of Lam's more esoteric ideas, and that wasn't a good thing. 

In truth, it was exciting to see Lam partake of this particular vein of thought, but where it was exhilarating when it worked, mostly it felt underwhelming and, perhaps more to the point, boring. The main problem lay that it wasn't showing a new or refreshed take on this idea, it was manipulated into some "Interesting" permutations, but ultimately it felt lackluster. Lam, usually, unexpectedly upends the tropes he is designing and offers a modernistic yet definitively approachable and seductive vision of the modern urban and urbane woman, sadly this time, she looked common and aside from the richer touches in the collection, she also looked plain. And that, is perhaps the ultimate sin. 

That's All. 

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Public School Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.





Public School Spring/Summer 2016.

Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow outdid themselves in the most sensational and spectacular way for their Spring 2016 Public School presentation that it's hard to put into words just how awe-inspiring the achievement actually is. It was a timeless collection that any woman could wear decades into the future and look as chic and progressive thinking as they do in 2016. The collection played up the Urban Nomadic idea that the duo may not have actually started but truly did develop into the current idea of what that vernacular of fashion is, that most everyone else is trying to ape and portray. This time out, they upped the haute caliber to the tenth power and sent out a collection that was as equally elegant and urbane as it was hip and urban. The pair said that they were envisioning their woman on far flung travels trying to find herself in doing so, that translated into a fluidity and softness that never felt wan or weak or timid. This is a woman who is equally strong in flowing layers as she is in the urban armor of hoodies and sweats and coats.

Osborne and Chow from Exit 1 showed that there was a new fashion forward vibe being followed, one that was most definitely more uptown than streetwise in it's approach. Yes, there was a distinctive sportif attitude that always permeates the Public School aesthetic, but here it was upcycled into a more polished configuration. Louche, liquid and languid were the words of the day, but that didn't mean drippy or amorphous. witness a puritanical and ascetic stretch of pure White at Exit No. 32 that functioned as a evening number but with a harder edged sportswear piece paired with it from the collection could be a minimal masterpiece for the Artsy set or could just as easily find itself in Southampton for a weekend soujourn. Couple this with the fact that the collection barely registered a whisper above the stark colour palette of Navy, Black, Grey and White interspersed with a punchy jolt of Scarlet, and the pieces could easily find themselves incorporated into a modern wardrobe and give a fresh and hip twist to what is already hanging out in one's closet. 

The Public School dynamic duo showed the skills in this collection to give one the kind of frisson of seeing a bright and unique future for fashion and a strong and individualistic new voice among the throng of many that crowd the fashion landscape. Chow and Osborne have a distinctive and enthralling patois to their work that augers well for the faith shown them by the fashion Powers that be, what they decide to do with that voice and how that manage to manipulate it further into new and exciting permutations rests on their shoulders alone, one can only hesitate a guess with such an accomplished collection as this one here, that their future is set for greatness! 

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Victoria Beckham Spring/Summer 2016.

Sun. 09/13/2015.




Victoria Beckham Spring/Summer 2016.

Fresh and carefree is how Victoria Beckham chose to summarize her Spring/Summer 2016 collection and embodied that ethos of the clothes she sent forth. Relaxed and breezy were also very apt, but in a very offhanded and luxurious way. Beckham kept her palette simple, adding excitation by using a neutral-esque plaid and a punchy surfer print that channeled the advertisements for the movie "The Endless Summer" also by super saturated splashes of Rust, Curry and Marine Blue. Those colours were most effective when paired with the main colours of the collection, Black and White.

Beckham proved herself a mix-master with innovative and whimsical patchworking of prints and patterns and clashing yet, funkily harmonious juxtapositions, as in that aforementioned plaid in subdued tones of Grey, Black, and Red against Optic White, or Coral and Black/Marine and Curry Yellow/Black surfer prints popping against Black on a long, louche overcoat. There were more of these instances, but the hardest hitting pieces were the ones that relied less on counterpoint and focused on spare, clean modernism, like the simple brilliance of a sleek hooded leather split front top in Dove White paired with Black leather pants or the unequivocally masterful tank dress in White, again, with a band of Marine Blue at the neck and a single pocket in Rust, Genius!

Beckham has shifted her focus from her beginnings as a glam evening gown designer whose creations were molded within an eighth of an inch of their life to a lithe, sleek form, to becoming one of the best designers of luxe and unique sportswear on the fashion show rounds. It was an unlikely transition and one that has taken a little time to coalesce for the designer, but it is a niche that she has grown into and is beginning to hit her most powerful strides in. The future looks bright!





That's All.





Bye4Now!