For the last couple of years, the Raleigh, North Carolina–based label Raleigh Workshop has been in transformation mode. The label’s latest collection—spring/summer 2014—showed that Raleigh, as the label is commonly referred to these days, has succeeded with its makeover in splendid fashion.
What was once a premium denim label for men has grown into a sportswear line for men and women. It’s a new persona that the label’s designers, husband and wife duo Viktor and Sarah Lytvinenko, wear with confidence.
The spring/summer 2014 collection showed an easy way with design and proportion. Raleigh Denim’s fondness for playing with classic pieces could be seen this season in an ethereal looking print that was actually of pickled cherry blossoms, according to the show notes. The print turned up on several pieces including a silk tee shirt, a silk twill column dress, and a chic trench coat in organza and burlap. Other winning looks included a men’s stone-colored canvas jean jacket with intriguing vertical tucks, white ankle-peg pants for women, and an off-white elegant double weave trench coat for women.
Images courtesy of Raleigh Denim
Denim still plays a major role at Raleigh as evidenced by the variety of jeans, jackets and other separates. Amongst the best of these was a very “on-trend” pair of lightly distressed moto jeans.
—Karyn D. Collins
Familiar cities come to mind when thinking about fashion hubs of the world—New York, Milan, Paris, London— however, one designer opted to shy away from the blaring lights of the enchanting international metropolises and got her motivation from a particular city that has been in the news for its economic turmoil. Inspired by the history of urban Detroit’s crumbling economic state and survivalist mentality, designer Ann Yee presents her spring 2014 collection—Resurgence which reveals structured, metallic elements of the auto industry that Detroit is historically known for.
Korean designer Kathleen Kye looked to urban streetwear mixed with a bit of glam for inspiration for her spring 2014 collection. Known primarily as a streetwear designer, Kathleen Kye has always tried to find that delicate balance between hip, urban streetwear with swagger and looks that also have a fashion-forward sensibility.
Nicholas K is known for their ease-of-movement garments expressed in drapey, soft fabrics in muted color palettes. This spring 2014 collection was no exception to the brand’s signature aesthetic. Though seen through a kaleidoscope of Native American influences, Nicholas K managed to maintain their established point of view without allowing the indigenous shaman traditions to overpower.
Color palettes ranged from variety of earth and rock tones to other natural element color. Tones were aptly named earth, granite, mica, smoke pattern, alabaster, and antler. As always, the brand had some great jackets and separates. Standouts are an earth-colored two-toned, Nile jacket, the asymmetrical onyx Nala jacket, and the inverted granite Mirella jacket.
The female silhouette has been admired for decades in the world of fashion design. Rita Vinieris unveiled her spring 2014 collection of elegant eveningwear that embodied the essence of sophisticated seduction and glamour. The designs are artistic, trend-setting creations that Vinieris has described as “a combination of black tie meets boudoir” for her new line of dresses and jumpsuits.
Where is the fantasy? Where is the innovative use of new textiles? Fashion Weeks have become so boring; all the clothes look the same, I need to see something new and exciting. Sound familiar? Well, if you talk to most fashion journalists and editors, these are some of things they hew and haw about in closed and not-so closed fashion circles.
The recent Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) BFA Graduates’ “The Future of Fashion” show might just change many fashion town criers declarations of boredom and malaise. FIT over the past several decades has produced a who’s who of some of the most noted fashion talent in the industry. From industry icons Calvin Klein, Norma Kamali, Stephen Burrows, and Ralph Rucci to Marie Claire fashion director Nina Garcia to bridal and evening wear superstars Amsale Aberra and Reem Acra. Interestingly, season after season when you observe the collections of the illustrious alumnae of FIT, adjectives and descriptions like tried-and-true, pedestrian, boring, or run-of-the-mill are rarely expressed. And that is partly due to the training and mission of FIT. FIT celebrates the artist with a keen eye focused on retail viability. That support and celebration was front and center at FIT’s 2013 BFA Graduates Fashion Show.
The range of categories in “The Future of Fashion” show went from neutrals to sportswear to knitwear to kids wear, ending with evening wear. Each FIT 2013 graduate had at least one garment in the runway show. Standouts in neutrals were Sofia Wahlberg’s black wool jacket with cream skerpa collar and skirt and Lynn Choi’s black cotton embroidered sweater with thread print skirt. In sportswear the standouts were Daniel Silverstein’s silver denim suit with leather-trimmed silk dress and Amanda Carlson’s rubber trench with bee-print blouse and cotton pants.
The knitwear collections did themselves proud this graduating class. There were so many great uses and innovative approaches to knitwear that ranged from knitwear in simple, but beautiful silhouettes to knitwear in a kaleidoscope of volume, construction and fashion-forward projection. If there were to be some standouts, those worth noting would be Claire Lung’s hand-knit white cotton dress and Jong Suk Park’s off-white, chunky cotton sweater with harem pants.
Kid’s clothes can be a tricky endeavor and many designers make the mistake of making clothing that are too adult for children or clothes that are stuck in the sugar and spice mold. FIT graduates found a way to create garments that were fun, sometimes sophisticated, with just the right amount of sweetness and charm.
Beautiful Chantilly lace, organza, tulle, silk chiffon, mermaid gowns, Cinderella ball gowns; sound familiar? Well, it should because these fabrications and silhouettes are all a part of an editor’s toolbox of descriptions and references during New York International Bridal Week. Most bridal collections use these fabric choices and familiar bridal silhouettes from season to season a very little variation in form or construction. Yet, there are those bridal designers who take these familiar recognizable looks and infuse them with fashion-forward sentimentality and verve. Angel Sanchez is one such designer.
For spring 2014, Angel Sanchez has carried over trends that editors observed during recent Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week ready-to-wear collections. Sanchez found an innovative way to insert the ready-to-wear trend of cutouts and illusions in this collection. Whether the illusions were a part of a bateau neckline or a floral cutout that accentuated the waist, Sanchez infused this collection with this continuing without sacrificing the beautiful of the silhouette.
Most bridal collections focus primarily on the bride with looks that range from the traditional tulle, chiffon, and silk organza lace-embellished gowns to more modern looks that employ non-traditional fabrics ranging from acetate to leather to metal embellishments. Though few collections concentrate on the bridesmaids, Monique Lhuillier, season after season, smartly includes a separate presentation of looks of the bridesmaid.
Never wanting to overshadow or upstage the bride, Monique Lhuillier’s spring 2014 bridesmaid’s collection includes gowns that incorporate a variety of trends. There were several trending one-shoulder gowns in this collection paired with diaphanous chiffon and tulle fabrication on the one shoulder. Lhuillier expertly mixed the trends of illusions and the one- shoulder aesthetic in these looks.
For spring 2014 Kelima K looked to the paintings of Hua Sanchuan, an artist from Zheijang, China. Hua Sanchuan is best known for the paintings in his “Book of 100 Beauties.” Kelima K’s 2014 collection also incorporates the diversity of cultures and female beauty in New York City which was evident in the racial diversity of models and the East meets West images.
