Front Row — Page 66

L.A.M.B. Spring 2015

September 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

After a three-year absence, celebrity music star Gwen Stefani brought her L.A.M.B. line back to New York Fashion Week. For spring/summer 2015, the international rocker seemingly sourced her global jaunts as inspiration for her collection entitled “The New Nomad.”

This line stays true to form of past L.A.M.B. collections, grounded by their customary trousers and jumpsuits. However, this time around, Gwen and Co. played with more cuts and colors. The look is African, bohemian, and indigenous. The base color palette is orange, fuchsia, and ice blue, blended together in ikat prints, tribal patterns, and indigenous designs reminiscent of the untouched landscapes of exotic locales. There is a full range of skirts and dresses, offered in midi, knee, and floor lengths. The crop tops, sweatshirts, and jackets are bold separates that effortlessly evoke a luxe aesthetic. The bags easily transition with you as you go from city dweller to global jet setter. There is even a touch of menswear influence, highlighted by an ice blue suit paired with a printed top. The entire line comes together for a woman who wants to look as though she marches to the beat of her own drum, off the beaten path, but her style is still impeccably put together.

Backstage, Gwen stated, “we are all so inspired by each other’s cultures, and how we influence each other.” Outside of the L.A.M.B. presentation, Fashion Reverie’s own Kayla Nicole caught up guests, including actress Daniele Brooks of Orange Is The New Black, and asked them about their own sense of style. Check out the video below.

—Carl Ayers

Parke & Ronen Spring 2015

September 7, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Inspired by Dickie Greenleaf the most coveted character in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Parke & Ronen’s models donned RetroSuperfuture eyewear, schoolboy prep-cuts, tanned bodies with an arrogant attitude. Colors of the collection were inspired by the Mediterranean lifestyle set in patterned stripes and printed button downs and Polos in sorbet-flavored palettes of peach, mint green, and limoncello.

Another reference to the film’s glamorous lifestyle was the idea of swimming and sailing. Classic nautical striped shirts with an homage to America’s red, white and blue were quite smart. They helped to balance out a series of swim trunks that perhaps are more preferable for those that fancy the Euro-chic lifestyle in Cape Cod or the Hamptons.

Parke & Ronen began in 1997 by fusing backgrounds of European traditions of haute couture with American sensibility. And that point of view continued in this collection. Though the brand now leans more heavily toward American sportswear, Parke & Ronen still manage to infuse their collections with European traditions of smart tailoring with attention to detail.

Images courtesy of Presley Ann Slack

And as always if the male consumer wants to look good in Park & Ronen clothes it is necessary to spend quality time in the gym as evidenced by the svelte models that always pepper any Park & Ronen runway show. This season was no exception.

—Kelly L. Mills

Desigual Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

For spring/summer 2015 Desigual has once again united with iconic couturier Christian Lacroix. In this, Desigual and Lacroix’s third year of collaborating, the two powerhouses have come together to create a collection inspired by and, at times as fragile as, Mother Nature herself.

Nature’s flora and fauna influence are abundantly apparent in the prints and patterns, as this collection is a cornucopia of color. Jade, white, and onyx serve as backdrops to the vibrant hues of daisies, desert roses, tropical hibiscus and Mexican dahlias while ocean blues remind us of the waterways that connect us all.

Not energized by just one locale, Lacroix’s collection is a multicultural cross-section of dream destinations. Light and airy tank dresses and maxi skirts invoke a Mediterranean spirit as they are coupled with South American motifs. The Ibiza influence is featured in floral frieze and breezy mini shorts, while kimono-style tops represent Japan.

The colors and prints aren’t the only eye-catching features of this collection; the range of styles is also to be applauded. The Desigual consumer can choose from fun and sporty to young and sophisticated all in one shop. The varsity-style jackets can take you from early tailgate to summer music festival. The sailor-style trousers and mini dresses prepare you for a night on the town … any town.

Images courtesy of Bennet Cobliner

The real standouts of this collection are the blue and white floral coat, the jacquard mini dresses, and the printed tank dress. These looks offer a hint of sophistication fun that can enhance any woman’s wardrobe. As the designer says, “a blossoming kaleidoscope, the collection is a gift meant to inspire happiness, one bloom at a time.”

—Carl Ayers

Sally Lapointe Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

What can be said of Sally Lapointe? Well, the one thing that can be said is that season after season; the brand never fails to deliver. Since Fashion Reverie has been covering Sally Lapointe, we have seen her evolve her aesthetic to include a range of perspective without loosing her core point of view.

From collections that have incorporated Lapointe’s futuristic mien to collections that displayed Lapointe’s penchant for dramatic statement pieces, season after season the brand continues to refine its aesthetic, crystalizing its creative point of view into pristine reflection of Lapointe’s seemingly endless reservoir of design talent and craftsmanship.

For spring 2015, Lapointe was back to the urban fashion warrior; a direct departure from her more elegant fashion dissertation on column silhouettes and coats with restrained volume. Never one to abandon a point of view that has sustained the brand; Lapointe juxtaposes masculine and feminine and the hard and soft like no other. And this collection is possibly her strongest mix of those disparate elements. Those elements are ideally expressed through Lapointe’s pairing of sheer diaphanous tops with skirts that had volume and structure.

Though this collection fostered a minimalist approach, there was lots of design in this spring outing. Structured skirts contained back zipper details, simple shift-like tees, bandeau, and crop tops were ingeniously paired with asymmetrical structured skirts, ostrich-feathered tops were coupled with asymmetrical skirts, and cropped bomber jackets worked well with structured midi dresses and skirts.

And just when you thought this would be a dissertation on neutrals, Lapointe ingeniously injected rustic orange and salmon tone variations. If there was one misstep in this collection, it was the studded oversized belts that worked well on some looks but made other looks lose the lightness that permeated throughout the lineup.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green

Lapointe’s deceptive “less is more” allowed her in this collection to demonstrate the genius of her craft. And where others who follow this directive produce collections that fail to make a statement, with Sally Lapointe this point of view only highlights what many fashion pundits have know for some time. Sally Lapointe rocks!!

—William S. Gooch

A Moi Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

A Moi, a new designer collection by Spanish designer Alejandra Alonso launched in 2013, is a brand to keep on your radar. Alonso works well with texture and line to create a chic femininity and an easy approach to daywear that can ease into night.

Childhood memories and family trips to St. Biarritz inspired the recent spring/summer 2015 collection poetically entitled, Reflections. Presented at the Highline Hotel, A Moi, showcased models in modern tailored asymmetrical jackets that ironically appeared with both a vintage and futuristic appeal. A collection that could easily travel and still create a variety of preppy, cool looks was key, for example: waist-length jackets with shorts, day dresses and A-line skirts in colors that referenced the sea. Even a couple of sexy fitted knit dresses were nice ensembles in a nautical navy and foam green color.

Reflections is a destination collection that can easily pack into a suitcase for a long weekend. A vintage mood set in the times of art and leisure, models were red-lipped and made to look sun-kissed, some handled badminton racquets as accessories, while all donned sleek wet hair as if they were fresh fish just out of water.

Images courtesy of Agentry PR

A Moi accessories are also available and offer a sophisticated balance to the designer’s noteworthy disposition of casual chic in design and fabrication. Did any one say St. Tropez?

—Kelly L Mills

Duckie Brown Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

For spring/summer 2015, “80’s Redux” is the name of the game at Duckie Brown. Inspired by the UK music scene of the mid-1980’s—think The Stone Roses and The Verve—creative directors Daniel Silver and Steven Cox explained that they set out to create a collection that’s a step away from their usually aesthetic. They described this collection as “lighter, softer, and more subversive” than past collections, and that translates into being their “most wearable, most commercial” collection to date.

Noticeably absent this season was their women’s wear. Rather than show both collections together as they did last season, or produce two separate shows, the design duo opted for a look book of their women’s collection and let the men walk the runway.

With the overall theme of stripes, wide-checkered prints and pale colors, this collection starts to resemble the underground “normcore” fashion movement. “Normcore”, a contraction of “normal” and “hardcore”, is the fashion trend of wearing clothing that looks unpretentious, normal, and almost unidentifiable (a lá Jerry Seinfeld in the 90’s.) Never the brand to follow the rules, and ever the ones to play with fit and proportion, Silver and Cox had to add their own spin on it. Present in this collection is the drop-crotch pant of which the duo is almost synonymous, as well as large, oversized shirts accessorized with plaid bucket hats. However, the most unique garments were the curved seam trousers which sat snug at the waist, billowed out around the hips, and curved back in for a straight pant leg.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green

Not neglecting their more daring customers, the designers presented a blue-glittered Harrington jacket that also had a matching pair of shorts and bucket hat. For those wanting to be more fashion comfortable rather than fashion forward, the most wearable items are the outerwear. Solid offerings from a khaki trench coat to a checkered bomber jacket to a plaid utility jacket ensure that there is something for every man.

—Carl Ayers

Monique Lhuiller Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Florals for spring, an original thought, right? Not. And it has been done ad nauseam. Which is why the brilliant way Monique Lhuillier incorporated this overused inspiration in her spring 2015 collection proves that she is a genius in linear thought development as well as design and construction.

It is often said that fashion is now and next, leaning more toward now with a dose of aspirational next on the side. In this outing, Lhuillier started her collection the other way around, a lot of next with a dose of now thrown in for good measure. And it worked beautifully.

For spring 2015 Monique Lhuillier revisits florals but distilled through the lens of innovative textiles paired with embellishments that create texture and fantasy. For inspiration Lhuillier looked to the first few moments of sunrise when the sky is painted with luminous shades of pastels that she experienced while on a trip to Harbour Island in the Bahamas.

The color palette in this spring collection embraced soft hues of pink, coral, mint green, sky blue, pale yellow, lavender, and any hues that evoke an iridescent dream-like quality. Lhuillier combined these soft sunrise hues with modern elements of noir-coated mesh, laminated lace, iridescent metallic piping and liquid satin.

Though the silhouettes in this collection were not necessarily groundbreaking, Lhuilier ingeniously paired unique fabric combinations and innovative textile techniques in new and interesting ways. And, this is where Lhuillier excelled. As the proverb details “There is nothing new under the sun,” but with Lhuillier, this season, familiar silhouettes and structures look new again even though they were decades old!!

Unlike previous outings, there were lots of separates that could be used to update a spring/summer wardrobe. Surprisingly, there were few red-carpet gowns for spring 2015 with Lhuillier staying with the garden-party motif throughout much of the collection. With Lhuillier turning up the volume for her concept of next and now, overall, this collection may be her most successful artistically, as well as having the most market value.

Images courtesy of Bennet Cobliner

Standouts for spring 2015, and there were many, included Lhuillier’s noir multi-floral embroidered tulle shell, silk white 4-ply silk crepe bandeau top with petal silk scuba short with noir contrast waistband, petal-embroidered tulle sleeveless gown with peplum and tulle skirt overlay, and pink multi-violet printed silk twill gazar one-shoulder tufted ball gown.

—William S. Gooch

Carmen Marc Valvo Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The big news at the celebration of Carmen Marc Valvo’s 25th anniversary was the forward-thinking vibe that permeated the festive occasion.

Valvo, over the years, has earned renown as a go-to designer for real women, particularly women with curves. His gowns and cocktail dresses don’t just frame shapely bodies, they celebrate them.

For his 25th anniversary celebration collection, Valvo sought to mix classics with a refreshing blast of the new. The classics came in the skillfully cut cocktail dresses and evening gowns that have made the designer such a favorite with a range of stars and famous spouses like Katie Couric, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vanessa Williams, Sheri Shepherd, and Denzel Washington’s wife, Pauletta. But these were anything but nostalgic odes to the past, thanks to Valvo’s use of mesh insets that teased the eye.

An ivory double face cocktail dress was given a racy edge with black scuba mesh detail. Several maillots got the mesh inset treatment. Even otherwise sweet looking pieces in a black and white floral got the revved up mesh inset treatment. The results here were somewhat mixed. While some of the mesh inset work was indeed intriguing and alluring, some of it seemed a tad overdone—too much of a good thing.

But the biggest surprise wasn’t to be found in the gowns or cocktail dresses. Instead, Valvo turned heads by introducing menswear to his collection. These were ensembles for an evening out on the town—mostly combinations of elegant dress shirts with jeans and pants such as a white cotton shirt with—wait for it—mesh inset and indigo printed faille jeans. Some of the most winning looks here were series of organza shirts such as Valvo’s black organza tuxedo shirt and a mandarin orange silk organza shirt shown with white jeans. Here, the organza allowed just enough of a teasing glimpse of muscle and sinew, the perfect complement to the feminine curves on display for Valvo’s women.

Images courtesy of Bennet Cobliner

Valvo saved his best for last with eveningwear embroidered in silver. Some of the best here included a stunning silver floral venise embroidered organza chemise, an ivory silver beaded mini matinee cocktail dress and an ivory silver embroidered mini matinee strapless cocktail dress.

—Karyn D. Collins

Nicholas K Spring 2015

September 6, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Abandon the nomadic chic vibe? Nah. Nicholas K will never do that. Season after season the nomad chic/urban warrior projection and all of its variations are the core reference points for the brand.

The design duo of Christopher and Nicholas Kunz looked to North African female explores for inspiration for their spring 2015 collection. They focused mostly on Swiss explore Isabelle Eberhardt who at the turn-of-the-nineteenth century dressed as a man while exploring North Africa.

That said; the masculine/feminine paradigm is woven throughout the collection. But, then again, those mixes of hard and soft, masculine and feminine is always a core element for Nicholas K. However, unlike previous collections there were no male models. The brand had the female models fully embody the masculine and feminine principals, eliminating the need for the male presence.

Christopher and Nicholas K always employ lots of layering and draping in their collections. Still, unlike previous incarnations, this season those elements were done with more sophistication and panache. Where in previous outing the layering and draping sometimes hid the feminine silhouette, this season the layering and draping enhanced the curves and added to the mystery of the female form. And the design duo helped forward the trend of khaki chinos for spring 2015.

Though this collection employed colors that would normally be thought of for a fall/winter collection, the easy fit and relaxed mode of the garments—consistent design element for Nicholas K—kept the collection solidly in temperate climates.

Images courtesy of Bennet Cobliner

Standouts in the collection were the hooded, draped olive silk jumper, sheer white cargo pants with draped blouse and gold neckpiece, and black bomber jacket, grey draped top with grey rolled-up extended crouch pants.

—William S. Gooch

Perry Ellis Spring 2015

September 5, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

The active guy in the city and his adaptation to that urban landscape inspired Perry Ellis’ spring/summer 2015 “Changes and Horizontals” collection. The visual design aspect incorporates the linear elements of grids and architecture and the intersections that a person passes every day on the street.

The fabrication of this collection is a bit more technical. As described by brand creative director Michael Maccari, the design team focused on the garments inside and out, making things lighter, more functional, and more seasonally appropriate. They began with a pure base and built upon that, using color, grids, lines, shapes within shapes, and reflective fabrics that are commonly found within the cityscape.

The silhouettes stand firmly where some menswear trends are projecting to: less skinny, more full-bodied, shorts to the knee, pants to the ankle, less Euro, more American sportswear. The selected color scheme seems to effortlessly camouflage itself in the urban palette. The colors are trans-seasonal, done in spring fabrications; deep reds and blues, a variance of shades of khaki and a strong black and white presence. The geometric and natural prints marry especially well into the city theme, reminding us that intricate design, whether made my man or Mother Nature, is always around us.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green

The heritage and future of the brand are also important elements in this collection. Says Maccari, “[we’re] always looking back to what Perry would have done; keeping one foot in the past keeps the brands DNA alive and then moving that forward. So the idea that having dress fabrics in casual silhouettes or more active silhouettes, there’s always that one foot in, one foot out kind of idea; one foot here, one foot in the future. It’s just playing with shapes and fabrics and finding that balance; that’s what keeps it moving forward and keeps it a little bit practical as well. There’s a very strong history in it, but there’s also the approach that it doesn’t have to be taken too seriously. There’s a fun element to it, and there’s a realness to it.”

—Carl Ayers