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. 

That's All.

Bye4Now!

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. 

That's All.

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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. 

Bye4Now!

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! 

That's All.

Bye4Now!