Front Row — Page 72

General Idea Fall 2014

February 9, 2014 by admin 2 Comments

OK, men in skirts, been done before to somewhat good effect and to disastrous effect. And though this trend—men in skirts or masculine aprons—if you want to call it a trend, showed on the runways of Skingraft, Duckie Brown and Nicholas K, General Idea found a way to incorporate the men skirt aesthetic into their fall 2014 collection better than others, and in a way that some stylish men might want to put in their fall/winter wardrobe.

For fall 2014 General Idea’s creative director Bumsuk Choi looked to a much edgier point of view for his collection. In previous outings, Choi has been inspired by wilderness outerwear, the military, and Tibetan pilgrimages. This season, the urban warrior was front and foremost in the creative mind of Choi and how that urban man deals with the vicissitudes of city dwelling.

Like his customer, Choi pulls from lots of different sources. From urban warrior to downtown fashionisto to futuristic style maven to modern punk chic, Choi is always in step and sometimes ahead of what the urban dweller wants to wear. All of these points of view are expressed in a mélange of extended crouches, quilted crop pants, leather skirt aprons, neoprene hooded jackets and color blocked bombers.

Choi, accurately, has plugged into the concept that modern man’s masculinity will not be defined by his choice of silhouette or garb, but by his attitude, his swagger and overall his confidence. That said; the modern man/General Idea customer can rock a knit sweater dress, a leather apron/skirt or a cardigan dress.

Images courtesy of Presley Anne Slack

Standouts in this collection are Choi’s outerwear—an item the brand has become known for—particularly, Choi’s black neoprene hooded coat, black shearling hooded coat, and charcoal color blocked bomber jacket. Still, there were some great men’s skirts, ranging from the black shearling skirt to the black leather riding skirt.

—William S. Gooch

Duckie Brown Fall 2014

February 9, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

For fall 2014 Daniel Silver and Steven Cox debuted the first look into how they would define the Duckie Brown woman. With Duckie Brown having already established a cult-like following in New York City with their provocative menswear, all eyes were on what they would bring to the table with women’s wear.

Silver and Cox humorously named their fall 2014 collection “The Duckie Has Two Faces,” a play on the Barbra Streisand film “The Mirror Has Two Faces,” giving a nod to the idea of both men and women being on their runway for this fashion outing. Though primarily a menswear brand, there were women’s looks that mirrored the brand’s polar opposite approach to fashion; the avant-garde juxtaposed against well-tailored classicism.

For the men’s collection Silver and Cox used elaborate tweeds and silks for hoodies and trackies, putting a touch of luxe on men’s activewear. These active wear–inspired looks were layered with classically masculine pieces such as pea coats or bombers over narrow silk pants. The MA-1 styled bomber jackets this season was one of the highlight of the menswear portion of the collection, showcasing bold color and Duckie Brown’s love for construction. These signature bombers are definitely a staple piece for the Duckie Brown fan.

While Duckie Brown is known for gender bending curve balls, the design duo minimized the androgyny this season, with the exception of a few skirt over silk pant looks. For the most part the menswear collection was fun, masculine, and wearable without losing its edgy quirk.

Images courtesy of style.com

For the women’s wear looks, Duckie Brown played with their signature mixing of short and long pieces, elongated tee shirts or sweatshirts matched with silk-pleated pants, with the tweed overcoats being the highlight. The women’s wear was all about using the right amount of color or print properly.

Overall, the fall 2014 collection was a step in the right direction. And with Silver and Cox always keeping the industry guessing, fashion insiders and consumers always anticipate what is next for Duckie Brown!!

—John Woody

Ivan Aguilar Fall 2014

February 9, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Ivan Aguilar’s fall 2014 collection was his first venture into women’s wear. Known primarily as a menswear designer, Aguilar for over 20 years has stayed in that market. Now that Aguilar has expanded into the women’s wear market, unlike other designers who tried this crossover and abandon their menswear oeuvre, Aguilar has infused some menswear elements into this new direction.

Inspired by the 1950s Dior aesthetic of wide skirts and cinched in waist, Aguilar added some modern elements expressed in fabrication, length of skirt and architectural construction. Aguilar also stayed mostly with a neutral palette of greys, black, and eggshell white infused with one of the trending colors of the season, rose gold.

Aguilar’s fabrications for this fall 2014 collection belie his Brazilian roots and fit more nicely into the colder international fashion capitals of New York City, London, and Paris. Still, Aguilar’s interesting use wool, leather, cashmere, and knitwear fit nicely into the trending projection for fall 2014 of combining knitwear with leather and fur. Also, Aguilar’s styling of cashmere and knit scarves draped seductively over basic blouses and peplum-inspired coats conjured up images of cool nights in the higher elevations of Brazil.

Image courtesy of Presley Ann Slack

Though this collection was not a loud pronouncement of Aguilar’s foray into women’s wear, this collection demonstrated that Aguilar has the requisite skill and craftsmanship to have a sustaining presence in that market. The genius is in the details, and in this fall 2014 collection Aguilar proved that his detailed sensibility has set him on the right path.

—Earlean Suite-Henderson

Venexiana Fall 2014

February 9, 2014 by admin 4 Comments

OK, Kati Stern of Venexiana always has a lot of looks. This season Kati Stern only had 68 looks; small in comparison to previous seasons where she would top out at over 80 looks. So, you might ask, are all these looks necessary?

This season, I would say a definitive, yes!!

For inspiration this season Kati Stern looked to 1930s Hollywood glamour and the design aesthetic of Vionnet, Chanel, Jean Louis, and Madame Gres—imagine Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow updated to 2014 and a lot thinner. The column gown silhouette used in this collection has been used before by Stern, but in other seasons to lesser effect. And though many fashion pundits complain that Stern uses models that are way too gaunt and wispy to fill out her gowns, for some reason this season Kati Stern’s pale rocker model, glammed up and put into red-carpet gowns worked!! Maybe it was the loud strains of David Bowie, the Rolling Stones and The Clash in the background that helped bridge the gap between Stern’s very delicate china dolls and her 1930’s Hollywood glam homage. Though the fit could have been a smidgen better and a few of the fabrications were a bit pedestrian, overall the season was a win-win for Stern.

That said; the silhouette throughout the entire collection didn’t waiver from a column gown aesthetic and there were no shorter dresses as Stern has sometimes showcased in previous outings. Still, the collection was eye-catching and did evoke the allure and the luxurious glamour of 1930’s Hollywood.

And Stern was right on target by placing a lot of black column gowns in this collection. Where at times Stern has spread herself too thin by having too many kaleidoscopes of color and too much bling which made it seems as though she was trying too hard, this season Stern exercised restraint and played to her strengths.

Images courtesy of Ken Jones

Standouts in the collection were the one-shoulder black spider-web lace gown with sequin and crystal detail, the black gown with sequin lace overlay and crystal collar and the petal satin gown with crystal strap and NAFA-tinted silver fox vest.

—William S. Gooch

Nicole Miller Fall 2014

February 9, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

It’s not enough to be a tough girl. Fall 2014 seems to be the season of the Warrior Woman.

Nicole Miller’s fall 2014 collection is just one of many this season arming women for battle. Her show notes gave nods to some of the fiercest women around—real and fictional including the Deadly Viper villainess Elle Driver, anime’s Princess Mononoke, Terminator Model t-x, and the Japanese samurai Hangaku Gozen.

Of course since this is fashion, Miller’s weaponry was of the sartorial kind. Metallics, leather, neoprene and feathers formed the framework for Miller’s neo-punk warriors. A note about these neo-punk warriors: in Miller’s world they are still definitely ladies with a penchant for glam, dark though it may be.

There was beading on vests and sleeves as well as trims—waistbands, for example, showing off an arresting pattern that resembled a coat of armor. Miller’s embellished sweatshirt with neoprene sleeves (worn with a glazed, plaid skirt) was one of the many examples of the designer’s glammed up warriors. Another winning look was a faux leather and metal jacket with embellished sleeves.

Miller’s use of feathers and a feather print were particularly effective. The mirrored-feather print was utilized beautifully in a wool coat and a wool jacket over an eye-catching metal sequined dress. To add extra oomph, Miller used real feathers such as the flyaway ostrich feathers on a mirrored feather print dress.

Even fur was given a feather effect such as a miniskirt and vest made of fox fur but dyed to look like feathers. These seemed clever, but a bit odd since the designer was using real feathers with such skillful abandon elsewhere. But here perhaps was evidence of Miller’s tendency to push too hard to show her cleverness and skill.

Images courtesy of style.com

More satisfying were pieces like Miller’s peacock feather pieces—a skirt, a top and then a sheath dress. A bit over the top? Perhaps so. Impractical? Maybe a tad. But they wowed and flirted with the eye and the imagination as good fashion should. And isn’t that the point?

—Karyn D. Collins

Sergio Davila Fall 2014

February 8, 2014 by admin 1 Comment

For inspiration for his fall 2014 collection, Sergio Davila looked to the lifestyle of South American gypsies. Davila looked to the Romani gypsies who settled in the Rio de Plata region of Argentina and their nomadic lifestyle as its relates to the migratory habits of South American horses.

Color palettes in this collection ranged from earth tone shades of brown, navy blue, garnet red and Dartmouth green. Fabrications were represented by the natural fibers cultivated in Peru evidenced in baby alpaca mixed with organic cotton. Davila also incorporates brightly colored traditional gypsy costume shapes in this collection infused into knitted and leather sweat pants, loose-fitting shirts and jackets, comfortable trousers, and knitted jacquard sweaters.

In previous collections, Davila has referenced from various Peruvian influences and used an earth tone color palette. This season, however, Davila’s Peruvian point of reference was stronger, injecting Peruvian tribal prints and patterns with a much more vibrant color palette as opposed to fall 2013’s collection where his color palette was much more muted and subdued.

Images courtesy of Presley Anne Slack

This fall 2014 collection was also a lot more relaxed, aiming for more ease of comfort as compared to Davila’s fall 2013 outing. There was much larger range of knitted sweater and shirt silhouettes combined with fitted pants. And Davila’s use of knitwear this season is right in step with many designer’s nod toward combining knitwear variations with leather, fur, and cashmere.

—William S. Gooch

Desigual Fall 2014

February 8, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Desigual has established itself as a brand that incorporates lots of explosions of color, digital prints in wild, crazy patterns and a fun, frolicky attitude toward fashion. Well, that hasn’t changed for fall 2014. What has evolved this season in comparison to other seasons, is a collection that is a bit more chic and a clearer focus on design.

Creative director Thomas Meyer looked to Barcelona and the architecture of Gaudi for inspiration for this fall 2014 collection. From a color palette that includes the rich kaleidoscope of tones and color spectrums of burgundy, hunter green, tawny, navy, violet, and rust orange—all colors found in the vibrancy of Barcelona—to the jacquard, tulle and wool fabrications, the brand this season strove to combine a minimalist sensibility with the energy and freshness of their beloved city.

Now, don’t be mistaken, it is still very much about the prints in this collection. However, in this outing the brand is projecting toward a consumer that wants looks that extend beyond simple shift dresses and trenches, looks which permeated the entire spring 2014 collection. This collection had a great mix of separates and that can be paired in a variety of combinations.

And though this collection was heavily influenced by the 1960s, there was a futuristic projection in the garments, evidenced in the fabrications of neoprene, galactic-printed lame, and other metallic fibers. With the merging of these two styles, the brand is expanding its audience beyond the fun party girl to the woman who likes to frolic but also serious about fashion.

Images courtesy of Ken Jones

Standouts in this collection was the lightweight blouse with asymmetrical pop art and polka dots and trousers with galactic-printed lame finish, kaleidoscope grey-toned wrap coat with oversized collar and leather details, and the red and black fleur-de-lis jacquard on knee-length coat.

—William S. Gooch

Sally LaPointe Fall 2014

February 8, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment

Sally LaPointe’s aesthetic has always hinged on futuristic, urban samurai warrior meets goth goddess, a point of view that has worked. (Hey, she has dressed Lady Gaga.) However, this season LaPointe has extended her particular signature to include looks that are more wearable for many consumers matched with an aesthetic that is more chic and sophisticated.

Don’t be mistaken that LaPointe’s urban samurai warrior has moved on to greener pastures; not indeed!! That signature look was still evident for fall 2014, especially in LaPointe’s version of the bomber jacket. (And in her case the ivory amazon Pirarucu fish skin bomber jacket was to die for!!)

Still, LaPointe’s fall 2014 collection demonstrates that she has found her stride and is now able to successfully marry her signature point of view with an aesthetic that is more consumer-friendly. Her inspiration for this outing was Charles Bukowski’s poem ”Bluebird” with references from the poem infused in her collection, especially evident in the navy blue and rich blue bird color themes. LaPointe also connected emotionally with Bukowski’s poem by juxtaposing the hard against the soft.

Like other designers this season, LaPointe combined fur with leather and silk wool, though more successfully than most. Where most designers this season seemed as though they were using fur as an extra embellishment to add a bit more oomph to the collection, with LaPointe, the combination of textures and fabrics seemed an organic reflection of her own specific point of view.

Images courtesy of Ken Jones

Standouts in this collection, just to name a few and there were many, was the cognac cashmere wool and golden fox turtleneck sweater with black double face georgette tuxedo trouser, the black silk wool degrade gown with hand-beaded applique, and the black Amazon Pirarucu fish skin bomber jacket, black lambskin and viscose stretch crepe skirt.

—William S. Gooch

Black Sail by Nautica Fall 2014

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Nautica has consistently been a leader when it comes to American sportswear for men. The label’s Black Sail collection for fall 2014 demonstrated why.

Sportswear, especially for men, isn’t as easy as it sounds. One can’t get away with just slapping together a ski jacket and calling it a day. Developments in the industry have meant constant innovations, not just in style and tailoring but in the use of high-tech materials. No man needs to look like a hefty Michelin Man when he dons winter gear these days, unless of course, he is the Michelin Man.

With the Black Sail by Nautica fall 2014 collection, designer Chris Cox proved that he has indeed found the right blend. The 40 looks presented were a perfect mix—sporty, vibrant and fashion forward without being kitschy, overdone or self-indulgent.

Outerwear, always strength of Nautica, proved to be the true standouts in this collection. Subtle color blocking, contrasts between metallic finishes and muted tones, and lightweight nylon fabrics were consistent themes here. And Cox also offered some interesting twists with separates, particularly in a variety of cargo pants.

Images courtesy of style.com

Highlights included an ink color-blocked nylon bomber jacket, a bright red nylon rip-stop down bomber, a muted melon-colored wool jacket with leather trim and shearling collar, and two nylon jackets featuring digital prints.

Sweaters shown throughout the collection like a charcoal marl alpaca wool cardigan and an ice blue merino wool turtleneck earned second and third looks from those in the audience and not just because of the impressive physiques of the models.

—Karyn D. Collins

531: Jerome Fall 2014

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Being deemed the “next big thing” carries a lot of responsibility. But Jerome Lamaar of 531: Jerome seems to be rising to the challenge.

Lamaar’s debut collection last September created a lot of buzz and a lot is now expected of this emerging designer. Launching out on his own after an apprenticeship with Ralph Rucci and a stint at Baby Phat, Lamaar has his finger on the pulse of what the stylish, urban female consumer wants to wear.

There is a definite nod in Lamaar’s fall 2014 collection to Kimora Lee Simmons’ Baby Phat aesthetic. Still, Lamaar has gleamed what he learned from Simmons and has made it his own. “This season I wanted to explore a feminine polished approach to a casual hunting tomboy look,” explains Lamaar.

And Lamaar accomplished just that. Gold seemed to also be a central motif in this collection. From the gold lipstick to the sparkling gold shoes to oversized gold bottoms on coats, as well as gold-themed jewelry.

Images courtesy of April Pabon Photography

What also stands out in this outing is that Lamaar understands that the young female consumer that was attracted to Baby Phat, L.A.M.B, and maybe the House of Dereon has matured. Though she still has a sass and swag, she is more career focused and subtly displays her affluence.

There are several trends in this collection from the oversized jackets to cutouts and bold splashes of color. Though the dresses with the cutouts may need to be rethought, where this collection is most successful is in the styling and the construction.