Womenswear — Page 51

Christian Siriano Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of style.com

Christian Siriano has evolved from that fashion wunderkind with lots of potential to a confirmed fashion innovator who consistently has his pulse of what consumers want and where fashion is heading. He has also learned how to incorporate very retail viable garments with other pieces that stretch the proverbial fashion envelope, a very daunting task to say the least.

Images courtesy of style.com

This season Siriano looked to a dream trip to the Congo for inspiration. “The deep, dark and mysterious creatures from the Congo Jungle in the Central African Republic were my main source of inspiration for my fall collection. I was drawn to the home of the silverback gorilla along with other exotic and exquisite creatures … I wanted the collection to feel elegant, powerful, bold but still romantic for the Christian Siriano woman this season,” explained Siriano in liner notes for his fall 2015 show.

Images courtesy of style.com

Siriano realized this dream trip to the Congo in sleek, burnout wool textured dresses; bold animal-printed jacquard coats, and liquid panther-like velvet evening look. Long evening dressed incorporated bold patterns of plant life and jungle flora that keep popping up as oversized palm-printed taffetas and bright citrus embroideries, as well as appliques from the African tulip tree and splashes of color reminiscent of the Heliconia plant.

Images courtesy of style.com

As with any collection, Siriano fails to disappoint; however, in this outing there were some looks that were overwrought and not flattering to the feminine silhouette. Siriano’s cropped top looks—leopard jacquard sleeveless cropped blouse and metallic zebra cropped blouse—particularly out of step with the direction of this collection. And Siriano’s two bronze metallic looks—bronze metallic knit sleeveless high-neck dress and bronze metallic knit long-sleeve tunic with wide-leg pant—seemed slightly out of place.

Still, there were stunning standouts that more than make up for a few missteps. Standouts being Siriano’s tiger wool cashmere leaf collar coat, leopard jacquard and tulle overlay gown, off-the-shoulder-cropped blouse with ostrich feather tea-length evening skirt (the crop top worked with look), and African floral taffeta drop-waist ball gown.

Images courtesy of style.com

Overall, the collection was stunning and a unique combination of familiar silhouettes updated for mass appeal and whimsically thought-provoking, transporters viewers to mysterious, tropical locations without alienating the tried-and-true Siriano fan. And isn’t that what fashion is supposed to; inspire, provoke, transport and make you want to dig a little deeper in your pocket.

Kudos Christian; keep up the fantastic work!!

—William S. Gooch

Georgine Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of wwd.com

For fall 2015, the 1970s ruled. From Pamella Roland to Vivienne Tam to Monique Lhuillier, all things 70s were the order the day for many design teams. Where Pamella Roland looked to the early to mid-70s in Paris as detailed in “The Beautiful Fall,” Georgine creative director Georgine Ratelband looked to the Weimar Cabaret in 1920s and 1930s Berlin, mod sensibility of 1960s British designers Ossie Clarke and Biba, and the bright paintings of Richard Lindner and Otto Dix.

So, you might think , “what does that have to do with the 1970’s”? However, if you look at 70s style more carefully, many of the looks were inspired by the 1920s, particularly early 70s looks.

Images courtesy of wwd.com

Ratelband successfully reflected the 1920s and 1930s with dress lengths below the knew and in the curly hair mops, bold lips and styling. Still, many of the looks in this collection conjured up images of early 70s Halston—especially the gold lame dresses—and Diane Von Furstenberg’s 70s wrap dresses. What did standout in this collection was Ratelband’s interesting pairing of stylized baseball jackets with some of her more obvious 70s–inspired looks. This rather modern approach to mixing and matching elevated this fall 2015 collection from just another homage to the 70s.

There were quite a few looks in this collection that were very wearable and would naturally appeal to a variety of women. Overall, Georgine Ratelband achieved what the brand was aiming for; wearable retail friendly looks without sacrificing innovation and creativity.

—William S. Gooch

Michael Costello Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of WENN Media

Last season, Fashion Reverie joined the online cadre of fashion magazines in praise of Michael Costello’s spring 2015 collection. Costello’s signature look of mermaid gowns with illusions and cutouts was a surefire hit during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. The collection was sensually chic, fashion forward and innovative.

That said; what happened this time around, Costello? Though there were some strong looks that distilled Costello’s penchant for revealing, yet tasteful red-carpet eveningwear. Overall, this collection was a downgrade from Costello’s brilliant spring 2015 dissertation on red-carpet evening wear.

For inspiration Costello looked to Japanese samurai for his fall 2015 collection. Costello’s architecturally padded shoulders and top notches did conjure images of Japanese samurai; however, that is where the reference began and ended.

Images courtesy of WENN Media

Where last season’s collection was sexy and very revealing, with Costello managing to keep the looks from being a parade of inappropriate, tasteless va va voom moments. Unfortunately, for fall 2015 Costello fell victim to too many skin reveals, slits that almost showed the royal jewels, and very wrong shoe wear that made the whole collection look clunky. And Costello’s choice of fabric was also out of step way below his excellent choices last season.

Costello’s black crop top with full black skirt was a pleasant addition, as well were some of more subdued black gowns. Still, surprisingly there were too many missed opportunities in this outing.

Perhaps, some of the celebrities in the audience were a clue to the customer that Costello is trying to court and maintain as a steady client base. (Hiphop superstar Chris Brown, his entourage, and Christina Milian were in the front row.)

Images courtesy of WENN Media

Though Costello’s spring 2015 collection could have stood its ground on any major red carpet, from the Oscars to the Golden Globes to MTV Awards, this season the look were mostly appropriate for minor red carpet events that go mostly unnoticed.

Go back to what works, Michael Costello, you’ve got the chops; better luck next season.

—William S. Gooch

Pamella Roland Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

This season the 1970s has served as a point of reference for several collections. From such disparate brands as Reem Acra, Rebecca Minkoff and Christian Siriano to Nicholas K and J. Lindeberg, the 1970s with its wide range of design aesthetics holds endless possibilities for creative teams.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

While the late 70s with its Studio 54 influences was the obvious inspiration for a lot of design teams, Pamella Roland looked to Paris of the early to mid-70s as detailed in Alicia Drake’s “The Beautiful Fall,” serving as the defining force behind Roland’s fall 2015 collection.

In “The Beautiful Fall” Alicia Drake details the pre-disco years of one of Paris’ favorite 70s hotspots, Le Palace, as well as all of the glorious excesses of 1970s Paris. It was also a time when Yves Saint Laurent produced his most exciting collections and his models ruled the Parisian runways.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

Roland paid homage to this era by creating garments that were sexy and more youthful than seen in previous collections. In this outing Roland’s dresses had effortless sense of movement, reflecting the changing tide and loosening of social attitude and sexual morays. The 1970s were all about liberation and a laissez faire attitude about everything and that is evident in this collection, seen through the current fashion lens of retail viability and mass appeal.

That said; there was some restraint in this fall collection buttressed by Roland’s signature aesthetic of sophistication and elegance. Though some looks were more for the more mature, sophisticated consumer, overall this collection demonstrated that Roland has the ability to design for a younger customer looking for glamour and a sense of whimsical style.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

The color palette and fabrications of this collection was a rich combination of silk, chiffon, floral cloque jacquards, jacquard cloque tweeds, wools,sand striped crepes in deep shades of midnight navy, plum, burgundy, cobalt, olive, and camel. Roland also stays on trend by incorporating semi-high slits, sequined embellishments, metallic fibers, and big floral prints for fall.

Standouts in this collection were Roland’s black wool beaded harness jumpsuit, burgundy silk satin chiffon dress with fringe beading, navy silk satin chiffon gown with cobalt floral beading, and ivory feather jacket with ivory lurex fils-coupe bridal gown.

—William S. Gooch

Custo Barcelona Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

Custo Barcelona’s men’s looks every season seem to have more retail value than its women’s looks. That is partially due to their less mixing and matching of disparate patterns and fabric combination with the men’s looks, rendering them more accessible.

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

For fall 2015, Custo Barcelona’s men’s looks again surpassed its women’s looks, but barely. Since last season the brand has done an about face in an attempt to make the clothes have more consumer appeal. This direction has carried over to the brand’s fall 2015 collection.

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

Even with this new direction, creative director Dalmau Custo will always maintain his signature aesthetic of disparate color combinations, fabrications, and silhouettes that are melded together to create a blazing miasma of color, shape and design, sometimes rendering masterpieces of fashion genius. And season after season, Custo has pulled out all the stops in this direction. Unfortunately, the brand has been up ended by Desigual who does the same thing at a much lower price point with less of a kaleidoscope of ideas and concepts.

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

Though Dalmau Custo was inspired by stripes used to wash cars at car washes—you could see this reference in miniskirts that were shredded stripes resembling car wash stripes, an interesting take on the fringe trend—classic silhouettes seemed to rule Custo’s runway looks for fall 2015.

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

Not only did classic silhouettes dominate the collection this season, the collection appeared most accessible when Dalmau Custo stayed with heavy coats in Mohair plaid and navy wool, non-distinguishing tweeds, and black-and-white plaids. Though there were pops of metallic-threaded colors and tribal prints though out this outing, the more somber pieces had more of an impact.

Images courtesy of style.com/Stefano Masse / Indigitalimages.com

Most seasons the Custo team has do a lot of tweaking to make the runway magic appealing consumers. However, this season many of the garments from the collection are already retail ready. It seems as though Dalmau Custo is learning how to save money and time. Kudos Custo Barcelona!!

—William S. Gooch

Venexiana Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Interestingly, every season Kati Stern juxtaposes her classic evening gown silhouettes with rock n’ roll themes. And every season she finds a way to make it work. No other designer in recent memory season after season mixes these disparate themes successfully without minimizing or distancing these polar opposites.

That said; the Cubist Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art inspired Kati Stern for her fall 2015 collection. Stern married cubist influences with her lace overlays of sheath, fit-to-flare, and mermaid silhouette gowns.

Now, you may wonder, how did Stern pair her classic silhouettes and cubist art references with her penchant for rock n’ roll? Stern’s rock n’ roll predilection pops up in the powdered coifs—think “Rock Me Amadeus”—and in the model’s attitude. Though Stern’s fall 2015 collection is mostly gowns with a few bedazzled jumpsuits thrown in for good effect, her models have an irreverent, rebel rock n’ roll attitude evidenced in their walk.

The collection started with soft, muted colors and progressed the color palette took on a harder edge with Stern introducing the metallic tones of gold, silver, pewter and aluminum. And this season Stern’s design aesthetic has evolved beyond classic 1930’s and 1940s Golden Age of Hollywood fare to garments that incorporate and current fashion point of view expressed in modern fabrications and current trends.

Standouts in this collection were Stern’s blush tool strapless with crystal detail, metallic Mylar mohair strapless gown, black lace and satin jumpsuit, jade iridescent gown and black ruffle high collar gown.

—Rosemary Ponzo

Tadashi Shoji Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

After more than forty years in the fashion industry, Tadashi Shoji season after season manages to keep his design aesthetic fresh and appealing to consumers. For several seasons, Shoji has toyed with lace and a variety of lace embellishments as a trend he keeps returning to. Though not necessarily a signature look of his design aesthetic, the frequency with which he uses lace, regardless of the season, demonstrates that Tadashi Shoji excels at taking a typical fabrication (lace) and re-inventing and transforming it into a trans-seasonal fabric.

For fall 2015 Tadashi Shoji drew inspiration from the intersection between aircraft mechanics and winged flight. Shoji’s use of ethereal silhouettes evokes weightlessness and ease of movement. This airborne point of view is evidenced his Shoji’s use of frayed-edge silk organza, and hand-cut tulle. Again, Shoji’ utilization of lace and a variety of bold lace patterns in feathered motifs mimic bird’s wings and aerodynamic flight. Metallic fibers and colorations of copper, gold, silver conjure up images of supersonic jets and avian highways that transport to whimsical, billowy jet streams.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

Interestingly, Shoji’s point of references for this collection would assumingly have more a stronghold in spring/summer collections. However, Shoji for innovative ways to manipulate diaphanous fabrics and colorations fittingly for fall/winter garments. Only a master of their trade could take a reference that evokes lightness, air, and ease of movement and expand that point of view to a new arch and perspective.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

Standouts in this collection were Shoji’s ivory hand-cut tulle and silk organza feathered tea-length dress with pockets and embroidered bodice, copper/black metallic embroidered neoprene long sleeve panel shift dress, black/ivory pleated georgette gown with asymmetric feather-motif embroidered applique, and purple/nude plunge neck feather-motif embroidered applique pleated full skirt tulle gown.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

That said; the adage states that there is nothing new under the sun. That may be true, but with Tadashi Shoji’s fall 2015 collection, everything old is new again!! Bravo Tadashi!!

—William S. Gooch

Chromat Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

OK, lingerie as daywear/eveningwear, latex and vinyl fabrications, garter belts, cone breasts, geometrically cut, revealing garments, exposure of lots of skin; it’s all been done before. (Does anyone remember the 90s runway shows of Thierry Mugler and Jean-Paul Gaultier.)

But, this is the second decade of the Twenty-First century, and at this current point in time, no brand does the aforementioned silhouettes and fabrications better than Chromat. Known for their show stopping looks for Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, and the “Mother of them all” Madonna, the creative mind behind Chromat, Becca McLaren reached deep into her ever expanding repertoire of garments based on architecture, geometric shapes and seduction and created a collection that not only provided a bit of shock value, but injected that special kind of oomph that so absent from the current cadre of collections that sashayed down runways during New York Fashion Week.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

Now, these kinds of garments are definitely for a niche consumer base that is not afraid to show what your momma gave you. Still, a lot can be said for fashion that is niche based and represents fashion as art. (There are way too many milquetoast collections that are primed for mass consumption, leaving innovation and creativity on the cutting floor.

That said; McLaren’s intellectual approach to the synthesis of geometric shapes, architecture and fashion-forward design almost puts her in a class by herself. And her fall 2015, if nothing else, demonstrated that her point of view projects toward the future and establishes herself as a purveyor of fashion as minimalist art.

Inspired by a New York magazine story on powerful transgendered CEO Martine Rothblatt who made a robot of her wife Bina from a “mind file,” digitally gathered social media and online information, McLaren used this reference to create a collection based on things that were synthetic; vinyl, rubber, latex, fake Swarovski crystals, fake hair, in other words product that had no human or animal context.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

McLaren’s references points has produced a fall 2015 collection that borders slightly on theatre of the absurd, but always cutting edge and thought provoking; as fashion should. Standouts in this collection were the latticed rubber hoop skirt, black vinyl bustier and panties with pink piping, and sheer fitted black dress with rubber pasties and panties.

—William S. Gooch

Sally LaPointe Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

To modern dance enthusiasts, choreographer Pina Bausch was the epitome of avante-garde dance, always the limits of what could be done on stage with her performance art spectacles that were an anachronism of what audiences expected of modern dance. Often there was no music, and Bausch would draw from the emotions of her dancers and male/female relationships as source material for her choreography. Often she would use spoken word as an integral part of her dance spectacles.

That said; Pina Bausch was an interesting both worthy choice of inspiration was Sally LaPointe’s fall 2015 collection. Known for collections that expand the perception of feminine silhouettes and what can be defined as casual chic, LaPointe’s attraction to the Pina Bausch aesthetic makes total sense. Bausch was always pushing the proverbial modern dance envelope, expanding the dance lexicon to include movement that emphasis emotion over dance technique. LaPointe in her own way does the same thing. Her work is raw, innovative and fashion forward, causing editors and fashion pundits to rethink the feminine silhouette.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Though over the years, LaPointe’s work has become more commercial with garments that have more retail viability, she never looses her edge. Finding the delicate balance between retail accessibility and forward-thinking innovation is not an easy marriage, but LaPointe has found a way to make these sometimes-incompatible bedfellows a comfortable pairing.

For fall 2015 LaPointe stayed mostly with a neutral palette that could have been downer for this collection. Taking that into consideration, LaPointe would a way to elevate this collection with great separates and a new sexiness that made this collection sizzle and pop. LaPointe found an innovative way to incorporate the fringe trend by pairing a fringe skirt with an oversized sweater and having a fringe extension that extends the dress to floor length. The fringe appendages and the sliced wool skirts facilitated a lot of movement and that movement quality was definitely influenced by Pina Bausch’s frenetic movement style.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

This was LaPointe’s most luxe collection evidenced by fur vests, fur cowl necks, and other fur embellishments. And many of the separates in this outing can be mixed and matched with a variety of looks from the collection or garments from other designers; smart choice LaPointe!!

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Standouts in this collection were black pony hair vest with cognac double face wool with A-line skirt, black felted cashwool sweater with reptile printed–organza inverted sunburst pleated skirt, black double-faced wool crepe long slit bustier with black wool leg trouser, and black double face crepe with embroidered stitch fringe gown.

—William S. Gooch

Ese Azenabor Fall 2015

February 15, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

How does a designer that heretofore does not have a presence on the New York City fashion scene—one of the biggest fashion markets globally—get a presence on one of the most oversaturated international fashion markets? It is a daunting task, and though some have been able to make inroads on this difficult terrain, most have a brief flash of glory and then fade into obscurity. Century 21 is stocked full of designers that used to have a New York Fashion presence, but are now sold at this multi-designer megastore.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

Hopefully, Nigerian-born Ese Azenabor with her fall 2015 collection can change all that and make her presence known more than for one brief moment. For inspiration Azenabor looked to King Henry VIII and his kingly splendor for her fall 2015 collection.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

This ornate collection, at times, looked a bit overdone and over embellished for mass-market appeal. However, at closer examination, Azenabor’s oeuvre is for that spirited female consumer who wants glamorous distinction at a price that is somewhat affordable. Though this might seem like a niche market, in actuality this point of view can attract lots of mid-level consumers who want something more than the milquetoast selection of clothes currently seen on the racks in many retail stores, but don’t quite have the deep pockets for Valentino, Gucci, and Versace.

Images courtesy of Presley Slack/fashionreverie.com

There were several items in this heavily beaded and embellished collection that could be quite appealing to that female consumer who is looking for that statement item for an exciting night on the town. Standout garments that fit that market are Azenabor’s “Catherin of Aragon” beaded silk-embossed brocade black knee-length dress, “Nemesis White” embellished cape wide leg white crepe jumpsuit, “Taboo” one shoulder embellished velvet jumpsuit, and “Rariva” beaded black crepe wide-legged jumpsuit.

—William S. Gooch