Front Row — Page 61

Vivienne Tam Fall 2015

February 17, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Ever heard of “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”? Of course you have; well for fall 2015 Vivienne Tam got her groove back and a whole lot more. Last season though Tam had some pretty dresses—a given for Tam—overall the collection lacked the kind of punch that the fashion cognoscenti had come to expect from Vivienne Tam.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

That said; this season Vivienne Tam pulled out all the stops. In previous collections, Tam has looked to Chairman Mao and even President Barack Obama iconography for inspiration, this season Tam looked to the controversial European concept of chinoiserie as seen through the lens of urbanized romance.

Though the ideology behind chinoiserie does have at its core racist connotations and borders at looking at Asian culture as “the other,” the ideology also originated from Europeans attempt to inject some of the exotic or “the other” into the decorative arts. At its height during the 18^th century, chinoiserie reached its peak in Europe when it was assimilated into the rococo style.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

For her fall 2015 collection, Vivienne Tam chose to present chinoiserie in all its 18^th century splendor expressed in pearlescent paillettes under the sheer tulle and printed silk shifts with sequined and beaded accents. Baroque matted silver and foiled gold lace is derived from Chinese Chippendale gilt mirrors, appliqued onto high-necked, Victorian-inspired silk blouses.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Tam’s infusion of the chinoiserie influence into this collection was front and center, but not heavy handed. And this collection was not without employing some of the industry’s current trends. The return of metallic fibers could be seen in Tam’s metallic turtleneck with 3D beaded trim. The mesh and micro-mesh was evident in Tam’s China red wool Victorian jacket with quilted back techno mesh and fur trim, as well as Tam’s techno mesh laser-cut applique sweater.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Standouts in this collection were Vivienne Tam’s high neck Victorian phoenix vase cut-out blouse with picture frame lace, camel wool Melton quilted A-line skirt, long floaty dress with reflected Bonsai printed on silk chiffon, and Tam’s wine crepe tunic with black mirror lace overlay with scarlet faux leather skirt.

—William S. Gooch

Rochambeau Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

While some menswear designers are just discovering workout gear and street wear as casual work attire, Rochambeau has been solidly in that design aesthetic since their inception. Their predilection for having a penchant for street wear has always been a dominant point of reference in their collections. As any true genius, true creative are always ahead of their time. And it’s taken all these seasons for some menswear designers to finally catch up to Rochambeau’s raison d’etre.

Surrounding by three huge ice-like sculptures that contained everything from cigarette butts, to old metrocards, “I Love NYC” plastic bags and even old street telephone from the 90s, creative directors Joshua Cooper and Laurence Chandler gave even more street cred to their collection by having their collection surrounding by throwaway items found on dirty New York City streets.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Although these gritty NYC throwaways were “frozen in time,” so to speak, Rochambeau’s fall 2015 collection was not. In this outing, Cooper and Chandler were projecting what menswear would look like in a futuristic dystopian society; a deconstructed society where men still have a sense of style.

Dystopia seems to be the order of the day for many collections this season. From The Blonds to Nicholas Elliot to Chromat to Nicholas K, their perspective on world disorder, inspired by current events, is informing collections that are beginning to expand the industry’s fashion lexicon.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

This fall 2015 collection was highlighted by cyberpunk, futuristic military jackets juxtaposed against relaxed pants with extended crouch. Heavy layering commented on a planet where daily temperatures run the gamut of a thermostat, and can be added or taken off depending the time of day or climate. And swaddling scarves added a modern sophistication to a collection that was at times too heavy on concept, and light on retail viability.

—William S. Gooch

Bihbu Mohapatra Fall 2015

February 16, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Bibhu Mohapatra’s fall 2015 was subdued and rather conservative. In previous collections Mohapatra infused his collections with gilded embellishments fitting from a designer who has ancestral roots from the Silk Road. This season, Mohapatra went in a totally different direction.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Inspired by French sculptor Camille Claudel and Irish revolutionary Maud Gonne, Mohapatra chose this season to use a neutral color palette as well as colors and hues that spoke to his East Indian heritage—turmeric yellow, clay red, and indigo. Also an influence was the recent death of Mohapatra’s father which may had a more indelible influence on this collection than Maud Gonne or Camille Claudel.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

This rather somber collection did not lack sophistication and some well tailored clothes, especially coats, that would appeal to the “ladies who lunch” crowd. When Mohapatra did include some sequined glam to this collection, the silhouettes were matronly and restrained to provide the needed excitement. That said; the pop and dazzle married with a youthful exuberance that so many fashion pundits have to come to expect from Mohapatra was obviously absent.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Standouts in this outing was Mohaptra’s final look, a cape-back black and white gown, as well as a rust red one-shouldered crepe dress, and astrakhan pencil skirt with bow blouse.

—William S. Gooch

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