WWD Reports that the Prada Group is selling Jil Sander brand to Change Capital Partners. This news comes only days after designer Raf Simons shows his first women's collection for the Sander brand. Over the past 5 years since Jil Sander herself left her her namesake and sold the controlling interest to the Prada Group. The Milan based label has struggled to find a successful successor to Sander herself. Things were so bad that Prada even paid Sanders to return to her post, which only last two seasons due to contract disputes. Interestingly enough, the current head designer, Raf Simons. Has really started to get a grasp of the label and won critics and buyers with his recent men's and women's shows for Fall.

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Simplicity, Elegance, Clean, Form and above all Frivolity! These are the words designer Zac Posen repeated over and over back stage. For his Fall collection the designer wanted to explore the lady who works or needs to works. To open the show, Posen jumped into this season plaid trend with a delicate organza with a navy blue and brown plaid print. Which he created a organza plaid dress and baggy pants. The movement of the organdy with the subtle print looks very playful on the runway.

For Fall Posen opened the collection with a dark pallet of navy blue and blacks. His focus was to tailoring the pieces and looks to create very striking form. This is the first season that Posen has showed a suit look for his clients. The suit jacket is tailored close to the waist with a straight shoulder line creating a very masculine look. The suit pant is tapered to the leg and hemmed mid-calf. I didn’t like the tapered leg of the pant. Then Posen shifted the color palette by adding some white. I fell off my seat when I saw the white bolero sleeve dress shirt. The dramatic weight of the sleeves was a great contrast to the navy blue satin pencil skirt.

Another trend that Zac played with this season was the puff skirt. Interestingly Posen made the puff skirt his own by playing with it and morphing it with the pencil skirt. He took a satin pencil skirt and from the back panels of the skirt he continued the fabric to drape back up to the waist of the skirt. So that the front of the skirt looked like a pencil skirt with the dramatic bulster of fabric in the back creating a cape-like look to the skirt and from the back it looked like a puff skirt. Posen showed this skirt in black and navy blue satin.

Posen also focused on the finishing details of several looks, like the navy blue satin “Jackie O” cocktail dress. At the waist he gathers the satin so it would create rippled bow. Another great detail was on another navy blue satin skirt, where Posen draped the fabric down the dress and it was then pinned into a bustle on each panel of fabric to resemble a bulky bow at the hem of the skirt. Worn with a simple white crepe tank top. Posen’s dedication to detail in this collection is simply amazing, the end result is almost couture-like.

Zac Posen typically steers clear season after season of the trends, which seems to be plagued on runway after runway. This season his seemed to relax this philosophy, but he certainly molded these trends into something only Posen would have the guts to pull off. One trend that Zac attempted and simply created one of the most memorable and decadent versions the shearling coat. He showed a knee-length shorthair shearling coat in navy blue. The coat is proof of his dedication to tailoring; with it tailored waist and romantic shoulders. The coat was worn with a leather pant to top off the strong look.

The evening section was rather small this season, Posen choose to only show three evening gowns. First was a floor length black leather gown with a breast panel bodice, similar to overalls. The gown is certainly a striking look for Posen but I found it to be very sexy and nod to Gianni Versace back in 94’. The most striking gown was the navy blue satin taffeta evening gown with the fabric shaped into a puff skirt on top and then at the knee the fabric is gathered to create rippled ribbon affect.

The must have pieces from the collection include the organza skirt with strips of python leather appliqué to create a plaid design on the skirt. Worn with a navy wool denim hooded coat lined with faux fur. The other must have of the collection are any of the satin embroidered pencil skirts. Zac Posen is the kind of designer who aims to please his clients and the wondering eye. His fascination with his craft and creating new inventive looks to mold his vision. Bravo Monsieur POsen!

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Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez shift their collection and inspiration away from the feminine and sexy woman looks into a more embellished and tailored woman who wants to play with this seasons trend of layering and bold details. For Fall the design duo drew inspiration from several areas including artists such as Trombley and even the tailoring and shapes from Cardin and Alliah.

In the opening section the designers focused on structure and finishing details. Showing several pencil skirts in array of modern details. Like the first pencil skirt geometric panels and darting in contrasting colors of navy, black and purple. They also drew inspiration from Trombley’s scribble artwork, which they duplicated as embroidered stitching on several skirts, jacket and overcoats. The standout scribble look was the pencil skirt and matching cropped jacket worn with a big black belt around the waist.

For Jack and Lazaro this collection was all about playing with the extremes. They seemed to be toying with the Kandinski artistic philosophy of “Ciaos and Control”. They choose to take this vision and build off its reference industrial references. For their outerwear, the design duo took traditional forms and tailoring and adapted them with classic iconic pieces. The first being the “Biker Jacket” which they deconstructed and molded into p-coats and cape coats. Another piece was the black wool coat with the scribble white embroidery design all over the jacket with brocade braiding along the lapels and cuffs of the jacket.

The gents also seemed to be keen on leather for Fall. Beside the leather biker jackets, they also played with patent leather. First on a dress with the patent leather stamped with a black/green or black/mauve design. The dresses had a biker jacket inspiration in the overall design. They added zippers down the front of the dresses along with leather ribbing to mimic the zipper line. A very decadent look but certainly a crowning moment to the collection.

For the evening section the duo kept the looks very short. Two looks really stood out in the closing section, first being the black tweed coat with short-cuffed sleeves and a faux fur collar. The other look was the silver brocade tank dress with silver satin piping encompassing around the waist and hem of the dress. A very decadent look for the collection but it certainly makes a strong statement. Unfortunately the duo did not show any evening gowns at the close of the show, so we don’t see any Oscar gowns from Proenza Schouler.

The must have pieces from the Proenza Schouler collection was the burgundy wool biker dress. The skirt is cut like a pencil skirt and a black belt finished off the masculine look. The overall tailoring of the dress is very masculine but the burgundy wool fabric gives it a little a soft look. The other must have piece is the brown leather pencil skirt with navy blue wool darts between panels of the leather. This is certainly of the most decadent and bold collection that Jack and Lazaro has shown since their introduction to NY fashion week 4 years ago. Bravo Monsieur McCollough and Monsieur Hernandez!

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Fashion shows are not for people who have issue of being herded like animals into a cage. For her Fall collection Daryl K opted to show in her showroom – or should I say rooms – I think there was a series of 4 rooms the models paraded. Almost remnant of the day when collections were actually shown in a salon setting such as this. Sadly the quality of the Daryl K’s looks is not at the level of Balenciaga and Dior. To open her Fall collection Daryl and her design team showed a navy blue trench coat worn with a barrette. French Street Chic mixed with romantic shapes here and there……!

Piece after piece and look after look the designer built a look of rebel street chic for the Parisian woman. From the gray puff dress with a tied waist to the layering of knit pieces on top of knit pieces. I was not impressed with the accessories paired with each look, like the heavy boots or the knee socks pulled over pant legs. Towards the end of the collection Daryl’s dark pallet of monotone colors like brown/black/navy and gray saw a splash of color with several shades of orange. Like the orange satin blouse worn with a brown puff skirt and orange satin sachet that is the only crowning look of the collection. The collection as a whole had a dark cloud lingering over it. Not sure it was the dark pallet or the lack of structure throughout the collection. Hopefully next season we see a shift away from the dark side.

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Over on 39th Street designer Francisco Costa opened the new Calvin Klein showroom to editors and buyers and showed what could possibly be one of his best collections to date for Calvin Klein. The show room was flanked with a maze of white bench, which disappeared in the stark white showroom. The showroom seemed to be a the primer for a new chapter in Costa’s work for Calvin Klein. Backstage the designer comments that his inspirations for this collection range from Bauhaus to roaring 20’s and even such artists as Man Ray and Georgia O’Keefe.

The opening section had a very 20’s look and shape with straight cut flapper dresses and slip gowns. Costa played with several lengths for the slip dresses, from the knee length to floor length. To adorn his delicate chiffon dresses and gowns, Costa played with herringbone and created some unique chevron prints. These prints were used on everything in the opening section. From the sheer chiffon blouses and dresses with the chevron design done in pallet beading or ribbon detailing. Another striking look was a black tulle dress with the chevron design on panels of tulle. Around bodice of the dress are rectangular pallets in three rows.

Another great look in the opening section was the chiffon jacket with the chevron design on the shoulder and breast. Black was the primary pallet for the collection Although Costa did play with several soft whites and mauves throughout the collection. Knitwear is a large trend for the Fall season, Costa did show several knit pieces but nothing really popped out on the runway. He also dabbled with another big trend this season, the puff skirt. Francisco showed several versions of the puff skirt, starting with a tweed version that is hemmed below the knee. The cut of the skirt is very similar to a pencil skirt, but the baggy body of the skirt adds a volume look. Another version was a paneled chiffon skirt, which incorporated a black chiffon cut into two different chevron print chiffons.

In the opening section Costa showed a handful of tapered leg pants, for the second section Costa gave the pants more body. Showering a couple of gray herringbone wool pants with baggy leg with a pleated front and cuffed hem. For the closing section Costa splashed color on several pieces. A shocking candy apple red was the most shocking. Used on several evening gowns in chiffon and tulle. The evening section was absent of any major construction or tailoring. The form was very simple, keeping with the 20’s style that Cost looked to achieve. This is evident in two standout pieces, a candy apple red chiffon gown. The other is a chiffon and crepe gown with the chiffon printed with the chevron pattern in red/black and gray.

The must have piece of the collection is the steel gray chiffon and crepe slip dress with silver ribbon appliqué’s running into silver chevrons on the chiffon shell. The details of the gown are very simple and feminine. The ribbon design runs down the dress in tiers. This is the first collection in a long while that had a Calvin Klein look and feel. The most exciting things about this collection is your can see some advancement in the overall focus of the collection. Costa really grasped the Klein vision and focuses his direction in creating a new chapter for the brand. Some commented this had to do with the change of workspace. Bravo Monsieur Costa!

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The Italian cashmere label Malo has landed in New York with hopes to broaden their market base. Previously Malo was most known for their knitwear work. The brand has brought on designer Fabio Piras in hopes to build the label into a full ready to wear company. The opening look of the collection was a signature turtle neck dress in a salt and pepper gray and white. The dress was shown in two different looks, both were to made to loose, it created a baggy look on the model. Although Piras was able to create a sleeveless version that was more tailored, giving it a sexy feel and look.

In the opening section Piras focus was on the Malo knitwear. He experimented with several looks like the gray cashmere knit dress with a satin strip of fabric sewn on a bias into the dress. Another great knit look was a the cashmere knit body dresses, very 80’s, shown in black/gray/white/purple. Unfortunately in second and closing sections of the collection Piras took off in a startling directions. He seemed to abandon the Malo trademark knitwear. Piras seemed to be playing with so many ideas in these sections, loosing his focus! He put together too many contrasting looks, like taffeta dresses, satin skirts and blouses and wool and tweed suits looks. None of which incorporated any knitwear.

The must have piece from the collection was green cashmere skirt that is pleated and hemmed at the knee. The rich color paired with the pleating make the skirt very dramatic. Sadly the obvious excursion of the Malo trademarks is a bit premature. American’s are not familiar with Malo brand and it’s signature knits. So giving them clothing that is absent of any defining look for the brand can be confusing.

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At Richard Chai the buyers seemed to have a gleam in their eyes by the end of the show. At first glance the collection was full of modern but very masculine looks. The femininity is found the little details that Chai added to each piece or look. For the opening of the collection Chai showed a white satin jacket that was very similar to a jacket that Hedi Slimane showed last month in his menswear collection for Dior Homme. For opening section Chai seemed focused on taking modern draping a little too far. Draping silk chiffon for dresses in a gray and white pallet.

In the second section it is evident that Chai’s strong suit this season is in his outerwear. He moved away from dresses and focused tailoring and details on his outerwear. Showing a cropped black wool jacket with contrasting white wool on the collar and lapels. Another strong piece was the white brocade jackets with the high collar and the pockets lowered to create more length to the coat. The jacket has a modern cut but the brocade fabric gives it a feminine look.

Chai played with the cut and tailoring of several pieces. He showed two mauve knit jackets with the buttons set to one shoulder and creating a bias cut for the lapels and hem of the coats. The modern fabric and the cut really give it a strong look, while the unfinished details like the frayed edges make it youthful and soft. Unfortunately Chai used this look and tailoring on wool check skirt and dress. Not achieving the same success unfortunately.

For the evening section Chai fell into a safe look of satin draped dresses and gowns. But he did show one gown with a white chiffon shell overlaid with white lace. The must have pieces of the collection is a pink and black leaf print blouse with a chunky turtleneck. The other must piece is the white pleated chiffon dress with a wishbone neckline. The dress just fluttered upwards every time the model moved. For his Fall collection Chai was focused on the structure of his pieces. The key to this collection is in the details which Chai achieved some striking pieces. Bravo Monsieur Chai!

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Anna Sui is still the master of American Noir. For Fall she avoids the dark pallet trend of the season like the black plague. To open her collection she molded the masculine lines of the season with delicate color, in the first standout piece. A black chiffon blouse with a pastel plaid print and white satin cuffs and Peter Pan collar. In the opening section Sui seemed to play with several rich looks with several rich printed fabrics. The abundance of prints was a little bit of a sensory overload.

In the second section Sui shifted her focus on outerwear. And this focus was mainly on decadent layering and details. Like the black brocade jacket with eyelet trim and fur cuffs and collars. Worn with a matching strapless dress of black brocade. Another great piece is the navy blue taffeta dress with the shortened hemline, great for evening but very sexy. Taffeta is slowly becoming a ready to wear fabric, in the past it has always been used as couture fabric due to its cost.

Color is certainly not absent in a Sui collection, even when she’s in a black mood she still gives her clients something to smile about. The “it” color at Sui was her orange looks. Starting with the orange tweed skirt with a frayed hem worn with a orange dyed shearling covered coat and trimmed with orange dyed fur along the lapel and cuff. Another decadent piece was the orange and brown herringbone weave overcoat lined with a dark chocolate brown satin.

Last season Sui abandoned her signature baby doll dress looks as big trend for Spring was the baby doll dress. This season she has returned signature piece back to the runway. She showed several dresses in her wild prints, but the key baby doll pieces were in the evening section. Sui showed several baby doll cocktail dresses for evening. Including a sexy black satin dress with a short hemline and a white satin peter pan collar and cuffs. Another great piece was the black tulle baby doll dress that was embellished with black chiffon flowers all over the dress.

The must have pieces of the collection include one of the Russian doll dresses. An orange/brown print on white taffeta dress trimmed with dark brown fur on the hem and elbow length sleeve cuff. The other must have look is the white organdy jacket with beading all over creating a plaid design that takes inspiration of a classic Chanel tweed jacket. The detail of the beading and the contrasting fabrics is amazing. I love how the sleeve cuff is trimmed with a layer of black tulle.

Although Anna absorbent use of prints this season was a little bit of a overload. It was balanced out by the Sui’s focus on the finishing details of each piece and look. The highlights of this collection run through the collection. The only weak points of this collection are the choice of accessories and footwear. Overall Madam Sui has crafted a large and strong collection for Fall. Bravo Madame Sui!

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Down at the Supper Club, the design team of Whitledge, Shipley, Halmos and Lamberto-Egan wanted to take their fall collection to the slopes of Saint Moritz. Models walked to Pink Panther themed pieces, while the runway was adorned with Swiss ski theme décor. Unfortunately their women’s line, showed with the men’s line, was relatively weak compared to the men’s line. That is what happened when four men design a men and women’s line.

The opening section was most of simple day looks. Like the sailor pants in brown wool with different buttons used to adorn the front panel of the pant. Although the looks overall were a little dull, one accessory that did standout was the contrasting leggings. In particular were the bottle green leggings and striped leggings. Another great accessory was all of the headscarves and earmuff hats.

For most of the collection, the Trovata design team abandoned the tapered leg pant for a straight leg this season. Showing pants in several fabrics including gray wool and tweed. For knitwear the designers played with simple themed sweaters of merino and cashmere. Like the blue sleeveless sweater with animals and arrow designs along the neckline. I also like the horizontal stripe sweater with a plunging neckline worn with a peter pan collar blouse underneath.

The must have pieces from the collection are the two outerwear looks. First was the light brown trench coat lined with a aqua leaf print on white satin lining the inside of the coat. The other must have piece is the snowy white collegiate overcoat. Which we saw several times during Milan and Paris men’s shows last month. The collection did give a dozen of unique pieces for Fall, unfortunately I found the menswear to be a lot stronger by the end of the show.

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The Mulleavy sisters are at it again. For their Fall/Winter collection they drew inspiration from details of Parisian couture houses of Chanel and Lanvin. The collection is a testament to their dedication of details and the structure of their pieces. In the opening section the Sisters focused on feminine and sophisticated looks. Starting with the empire waist jackets that are tailored close to the models body. The sister’s passion for the delicate masterworks of couture are evident in the white pieces of the collection. The duo first showed a white wool overcoat that looked like a flower. The lapels and collar are scalloped and just stiff enough to create a very delicate look. Another white piece was the white crepe gown with tiers of crepe scalloped and tiered down the dress like a flower. Both of these delicate pieces are proof the ladies vision is certainly couture based.

The must have pieces from this collection is first the white wool jacket with the scalloped collar and lapels. Another must have look is the black chiffon skirt that is pleated and a matching black chiffon jacket with ruffles on the cuff and lapels. The final must have look are any of the evening gown in the evening section. The sisters’ attention to the details and draping of chiffon combined with crepe is subtle and dramatic. I would have to say that Kate and Laura Mulleavy really do not belong in New York. They really belong in Paris, the vision and craft really surpasses several designers in America. Bravo Madame Kate and Madame Laura!

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For Fall/Winter Derek Lam took inspiration of the 30’s and Madam Gres. Lam found that draping this collection created a feminine and yet masculine look for Fall. In the opening section of the collection Lam showed a dramatic sleeveless merino wool sweater with a large draping turtleneck, a unique knitwear piece. Unfortunately I was not liking the baggy tuxedo pant that he showed with several looks, with sequins and beading running the down the side of the pant. Lam played with the masculine looks by adding thick fabrics as tweed and gray wool. A crowning piece is the gray tweed cape coat with a leather belt. A very dramatic piece that reminds me Monsieur Balenciaga in the 30’s. Lam experimented a lot in this collection, like the stretch jersey tank with layers of white and black. Another great look was the satin cocktail dress with a creamy white satin framed by black satin around the skirt and bodice.

Veering away from the innovation of the season, Lam did toy with some of this season’s trend looks. Including fur, which he showed on two overcoats and a scarf. Unfortunately the use of the fur to trim the cuff as well as sleeves of two maxi-length trench coats was a little overboard. Although Lam showed a relatively small evening section, the crowning pieces were the two black silk satin and taffeta evening coats. The weaving of the tulle and satin fabrics, creating a basket weave, certainly grande piece that belongs into a couture collection.
The must have pieces of the collection is the crayon blue silk crepe dress. The slanted draping and the bolstered cuts were an eerie reminisces of Madame Gres gown. The other grande piece is the green trench coat that is double breasted. Interestingly is that Derek Lam, season after season, has been developing his craft into an almost couture quality collection. This season is no different, it seems as if Lam is molding his collection into a couture collection. Is this a hint! Bravo Monsieur Lam!

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Pre-show designer Michael Kors is heading off the press in hope to have him have enough time get the show to start on time. Michael Kors is becoming an American legend of fashion in his own time. He comments that his even starting to copy himself or make fun of himself. Then poking fun of his age by pointing out his 25 years as a designer. Incredibly the man looks like he aged 5 years in lieu of 25 years. For his Fall collection he focused on the extremes of his work and molding them into one look. Shaping short and long, combining theme with his times of his youth. Making the look of the collection based off of Ali McGraw in “A Love Story” .

To open his fall collection Kors had the buyers and editors giggling. Showing a collegiate strip jump suit on Daria. Poking fun at the recent episode of Project Runway with one of the contenders showing a jumpsuit that was glued onto the models body because he didn’t finish it. Kors played with some of this season’s trend but also explored some of his own. Some of the new trends include a tie-die print that was used on vast number of pieces. Including a gray and black version use in cashmere cardigan with matching scarf. Another great look was a p-coat with black and white version of the print. Although it looked decadent on the sweater, the velvet dress with the tie-dye print was not visually pleasing.

This season we have seen numerous designers play with plaids and tartans. Kors showed several different plaids in numerous looks. Some of the best pieces were the chunky weave camel plaid jackets, one with fur trim along the hem of the jacket. Both were nod to St. Laurent! The waist length jacket was worn with a delicate chiffon dress with tiers of pleated black chiffon cascading down the dress. The other look was worn with dark chocolate cashmere turtleneck sweater and a camel skirt, topped with chocolate knit knee high socks.

Another plaid piece that is going to be a hot item is the white and black plaid skirt. The skirt was constructed by taking strips of the plaid fabrics and sewing them on top of each other, creating a layered look to the fabric. The must have plaid piece of the collection is the floor length black crepe skirt with a plaid print screened on it. The skirt looked very bulky but when the model walked down the runway it just floated with the model. What is unique is the little details that Kors added, like the frayed hem of the skirt.

Designers seem to be showing very simple evening gowns in their collection. For his evening section Kors also shifted the inspiration from McGraw to the 20’s and flappers. This is certainly noticeable in all of the cocktail dresses and their flowing hemlines and layers. Two stunning looks was the black lace flapper dress with a plunging neckline and the black tulle evening jacket with a plaid design made of sequins.

Sadly Kors’ evening gowns were simple satin and crepe draped gowns in brown/black and burgundy. The must have piece of the collection is all of Kors’s knitwear. A big trend of the season, Kors jumped at the idea of big and decadent knit looks. He offered several knit sweaters including a cashmere ribbed turtleneck sweater shown with a camel tank dress. Another look was the camel and navy blue argyle print sweater and socks. What is interesting is we saw several Argyle looks in Paris and Milan Menswear collection; sadly America designers have not adopted the argyle into their collections.

The crowning pieces of the collection are Michael Kors knit cardigans. First, the white cashmere knee length cardigan with a white fur collar. The look was very chic and relaxed; I also love the contrasting tortes shell buttons. The other cardigan was a floor length brown wool cardigan. Last but not least is the white cashmere cable knit dress worn with a knee length camel coat. This is a piece that should remain should be in every woman’s closet. Although the cold months are slim these days, owning a cable knit dress is certainly a look that any woman can pull off. Michael Kors is certainly taking American Sportswear in the direction much needed, forward! His passion for innovation and creativity is proof for his love of the craft. Bravo Monsieur Kors!

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Designer Behaz Sarafour has always been the girls, girl designer. This season it’s no different, for Fall Sarafour inspiration is to take classic menswear and mold it into strong feminine looks. Opening the collection she jumped right into this look for Fall. Showing a white silk jersey t-shirt overlaid with a black lace and tulle shell worn with a black wool skirt. The low point I think through the whole collection is the faux cow fur scarf and jacket.

For knitwear Sarafour shinned, like the gray knit tube top or even the cashmere Moreno knit dress with long sleeves. Very flattering but certainly a great look in the collection. Sarafour loved playing with all the men’s fabrics, from the gray wools to the tweeds. She took classic wool fabrics for suits and crafted pleated skirts that she embellished with lace appliqués on the skirts. Sarafour even took two of this season big trends and made them into must have looks for the collection. Her velvet cocktail dress with the white lace petticoats shown in dark green and black velvets, were flattering and playful. Minus the jeweled collars Although Sarafour did struggle with the Lame trend and last season’s baby doll dresses.

The must have piece from the collection was the black crepe skirt with tiers of small ruffles of tulle cascading down the dress. Another must have piece are the tartan print satin blouse and matching pleated skirt. This collection is certainly a step forward for Sarafour and her label. She truly grasped her vision and really mastered it in her collection. Bravo Madam Sarafour!

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Narcisco Rodriguez has an eye for architecture and lines. His built his clientele on his ability to create structured looks that compliment the body and easy on the eye. For Fall Rodriguez took to the 60’s and the era of Jean Seaberg and Jean Shrimpton. For the opening of the collection Narcisco showed a number of black and white looks. Although they are classic Narcisco dresses they were not that unique.

For the second section Rodriguez really explored by adding some subtle color to the collection. I loved the pale peach wool jacket with white satin trim all over the jacket. Narcisco attempted several of this season trends, like the puff skirt and his velvet skirts. Unfortunately these looks did come out in the collection. I also fell in love with the white dress with the large panel of sequins on the front.

For his Fall look Rodriguez kept the models eyes clean on top and a heavy liner on the lower lid and a pale nude lip. The hair yet again is pulled back in a large and loose bun. This is the big hair trend for the season. Last season we saw numerous shows with the ponytail, this season it’s all about the “bun”. The standout accessory of the collection are the white patent leather loafers with a high heel, the black ribbing on the shoes adds some definition to the shoe. Although the rest of the shoes in the collection were too similar to Chanel footwear from past.

The must have looks for the collection is the antique white wool jersey dress with two large satin panels on the front. The other piece is the black wool jacket with a wide collar that lies on the shoulders. Overall the collection does have numerous sellable items and looks. Although the collection is lacking in the uniqueness department, I found the collection to be too back and white with more black.

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Marc Jacobs is certainly the designer who ushered American Sportswear from the 70 & 80’s in the 90’s and the new millennium. Sadly some editors and buyers are quick to label a designer collection based on their history. Earlier this week, Jacobs’s namesake collection was dubbed grunge by the masses. It really is not a nod to the era of grunge (which really only lasted 2 seasons) rather its just a shift back to layering and options. Jacobs is about creating looks that can appeal to different people in certain ways.

The collection as a whole is a look of layers and crazy ideas of what fashion is on everyone. In the opening section Jacobs showed numerous denim looks. Sadly most of them seemed to be lacking in form, rather victim to draping (unfortunately denim does not drape well.) One piece that was a great addition and small trend seen here and there this season was the pinstripe denim vest. Jacobs showed sever full-length skirts and dresses in denim as well as this season Windsor check dress.

Also in the opening section Jacobs finished each look of with some great outerwear and accessories. I love the draped gray wool overcoat and the cape coat. For accessories Jacobs kept to his signature bags with some new details of chains and shearling. The only bad accessory was the shoes in the collection, most of which looked to be taken right out of thrift store.

For knitwear Jacobs kept to a dark pallet but showed some show stoppers. Like the brown cashmere cardigan dress with a gray silk jersey skirting along the bottom of the dress. Most of the collection was tailored very loosely but several pieces were too baggy. Including the suits and pants which were way too baggy for the girls to move in. In the second section Jacobs seemed to intensify his layering.

Also in the second section Jacobs started to show some great look with combinations of wool, denim, Windsor check and taffeta. I did not like the looks that included satin jumpers and overalls. Which is an eerie reminder of a story passed around about a jumpsuit hitting the “Project Runway” show. What I really liked is that Jacobs did add just a tad of humor to the collection. I love the long sleeve cotton shirts with images of Little Red Ridding Hood and the Wolf silk-screened.

For evening Jacobs started to shift into creating some unique pieces for Fall. Like the navy blue and aqua print taffeta floor length skirt worn with a long navy blue p-coat. The must have piece of the collection is the black tuxedo jacket with a black satin lapel and cuffs. Very sexy and certainly masculine, of coarse layered! Jacobs’s focus this season was giving his client a multitude of option for layering while adding color to this season’s dark pallet. This collection is certainly a compliment to Jacobs recent showing of his namesake collection. Bravo Monsieur Jacobs!

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

While shuffling into seats a Luca Luca someone was talking about how this collection is certainly going to disappoint. What I found interesting was the mass amount of ladies of pose, not lunch in the first row. Only handful of editors and two prominent buyers were sitting in the front row. Yet again we are back to the drama of how fashion shows are becoming a publicity stunt rather than showing fine clothing? This collection will define this drama!

Luca opened the collection with a very dramatic and standout piece, a camel coat that is just draped onto the model. Unfortunately the raves and smiles stopped after the opening pieces. Slowly the collection just went down hill. Luca did offer sever knitwear options, but the bulk were simple cashmere sweaters. Unfortunately the Luca inspiration this season was to combing romantic looks like princess blouses and with modern draped pieces.

As for Luca’s focus this season he was certainly focused on building this collection around all the big trends for this season. Windsor Check pants, bubble skirts and dresses, animal prints on skirts and jackets even velvet on jackets. Buyers seemed to be squirming in their seats halfway through the collection. This started when Luca showed a pale aqua jacket with a blue chiffon blouse, the coloring and cut of the jacket was too Spring. The collection is overall weak, which is built on catering to his client’s demands for simple pieces. Unfortunately Luca has fallen victim of the Celebrity bug! Here is to hoping he can break free next season.

view collection here

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For Fall/Winter 06’ Monique Lhuillier’s inspiration was bringing evening looks into the daytime. The bulk of the collection is built off of the concept of cocktail dresses that are dressed up. Monique and her team played with the puff skirt this season. Like the black and navy blue puff cocktail dress or the pale gray puff gown. Romantic and delicate and delicate are two words to describe the second section. Lhuillier molded classic Givenchy dresses in all black and mauve taffetas and mixed a classic pencil skirt in gray taffeta with a ruffled collared blouse. From the second section she moved into a predominated evening section. Offering a handful of brocade pieces, which were, was to overworked.

The evening gowns were very romantic but no real standout gowns. The must have pieces in the collection is the burgundy lace and taffeta cocktail dress. A classic but the tailoring is perfect creating stunning shape. Another must have piece is the camel coat that is a cape draped over the model. For Fall Lhuillier’s wanted the models to have on the go look, unfortunately the little red around the eyes of the model and on the nose made the models look like they had a bad cold. The hair topped off the image being pulled back with strand loose behind the ear.

This collection is certainly filled with a large number of options for evening. Although Fall/Winter is a big entertaining time of the year, its also about dressing comfortably. A lot of this collection is not practical for cold climates or wet weather.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Phillip Lim’s, 3.1 collection for Fall is one of his most American stylized collections to date. Lim bowed to many of this seasons top trends from ruffles to the “it” fabric the Windsor check. Molding very masculine collection that toys with the American sportswear looks. Building off two Windsor check looks of baggy cuffed short and a wide lapel trench coat. Sadly the program notes stated street chic was the vision he was shooting for in this collection. I think it was a miss print, this collection is far from anything street!

Lim’s focus this season was on his knitwear, offering a number of pieces for Fall/Winter. Making sure that each piece is full of texture and tailored to make then stand alone piece. The oversized cashmere sweater with a draping turtleneck is one example. Lim also explored the combination of knit with delicate fabrics. For example the small knit doilies that applied to a sheer chiffon navy blue dress. Phillip also showed several outerwear pieces, some not so strong. Including a shearling coat. For the evening section Lim was scarce in strong options. Only a few evening pieces were fitting to such a strong sophisticated collection.

The key must have pieces of the collection include a unique knitwear piece is the brown wool knit vest with ribbing knit along the edges of the vest. Another must have piece was the pale nude chiffon gown with a plunging back line, lined with tiers of small ruffles. For Fall Lim showed some real standout looks and certainly a number of big sell items. Bravo Monsieur Lim!

view collection here

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At Tuleh, designer Bryan Bradley was focused on the ladies who lived and lunched. The opening section of the collection was chopped full of a number of looks which focused on outerwear. From overcoats to trench coats. Bradley’s vision was to increase the volume of the outerwear, creating a straight figure through loose tailoring. For second section Bradley showed several printed silk dresses.

Then Bradley really started to explore and reinvent these looks from the 50’s and 60’s. Bryan moved away from Vassar girls into a Edie Beale (Gray Gardens) inspired section. Showing a leopard print jacket with an oversized cashmere cardigan and a brown tweed pencil skirt. Another Edie look was a matching gray brocade skirt suit with leopard trim on the jacket. Then Bradley went a little overboard showing a full section of furs that look to be overworked.

In the third section of the collection, the designer opened with a Miriam section with all black looks of long skirts and dresses. Then moving into an all white section titled Wealthy Woman. Bradley 60’s inspired tailoring tin this section created several white satin pieces that have a modern shape that creates a sophisticated sexy look. Two pieces that really stood out in this section was the long sleeve white satin dress that is hemmed below the knee. As well as the white satin long sleeve blouse that has turtleneck and is gathered to create a soft shape to the blouse.

The must have pieces of the collection is the white wool overcoat with white satin lining the lapel and collar. The other piece is the black chiffon skirt that is layered with black satin ribbon. The collection is full of endless option for evening but outside of evening Bradley did not show enough day looks. Most of the collection keeps to a black pallet with the only splash of color being a contrasting white. Bradley kept the models makeup clean with porcelain faces and red lip. The models hair was kept down with a finger wave close to the face, so Veronica Lake!

view collection here

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In the opening section of the Bill Blass collection, designer Michael Volibracht looked to youthful looks Blass created back in the 60’s. His focus for his Fall collection was in the outerwear and cocktail dresses. Like the tailored tweed overcoat that is lined with a deep burgundy satin. The use of red shifted in different shades, like the Elizabeth Arden red wool jackets. Volibracht also bowed to some of this season trends, including Windsor check prints. Which he used on a skirt with a band of camel colored wool fabric around the shoulder. A modern twist to a classic piece. Volibracht also showed a handful of knit pieces as well. The standout knit piece is the gray cashmere cable knit sweater or the coral red button cardigan.

Moving from knit and outerwear, Michael focused on a number of cocktail dresses. Like, the sheer black cocktail dress with cascading bands of beading from the top and bottom. For the evening section the designer showed a number of evening coats. The standout piece was the brown brocade overcoat with beading and feathers sewn all over the coat. Very classic and grown up! The evening gown section was lacking in creative looks. With gowns of draped fabric wit no shape or embellishment.

The must have pieces of the collection are two cocktail dress of tulle. First was the digitized plaid print on taffeta worn with a coral red cardigan. The other was a solid brown and brown plaid paneled taffeta collared dress. The collection overall is very ladies who lunch in the garden or out for an evening of charity events. But the classic looks certainly feel like Bill Blass created them. Bravo Monsieur Volibracht!

BILBLASS>view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designers Hanii Yoon and Gene Kang keep their Fall/Winter collection very simple this season. Their focus was creating unique looks for their clients that were classic and away from their modern structures. For the opening section the duo showed a bubble dress in mauve crepe with gold lame panels around the whole dress. This look incorporated two trends of the season, almost flawlessly. From the opening section the designers moved away from the feminine pieces and added some masculine looks that didn’t work with the collection. Like the black suits with tapered leg pants or the velvet trench coat that was not tailored leaving the shape full and baggy.

The designer slowly moved back to femininity adding delicate laces wit h a 20’s feel to the overall look. Like the white satin pencil skirt with a black lace shell. The must have pieces includes a pale yellow Peter Pan collar overcoat worn with a black lace trim skirt, which peaked out at the bottom of the jacket. And the pale yellow dress with lace sleeves and tiers of lace along the bottom of the dress. Yoon and Kang created an overall feminine collection that does reflect some change for the designers.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last season there was Adi, Angle, Gabi and Kai. This season Kai has left As Four design team shifting the addition of Three to the Label. For Fall the design trio showed a relatively small collection, only 20 looks in total. The focus for fall seemed to be in color and draping. From a pallet of browns and rusts to purple and olive. Their excessive use of draping created a number of full figured silhouettes.

The inspirations is certainly taken from early 60’s modern master Cardin to the relaxed 90’s sportswear. In the opening section the trio several pieces in crepe and wool. The magical piece that just floated was the olive green satin and purple crepe gown. The fabric combination was decadent with draping that allowed the gown to the move with the model. Along with the rust colored crepe dress with long arms draped with rust satin and crepe.

It accessory of the collection are the fuchsia leather heels. A splash of contrasting colors that really adds to each look. The trio used a lot of ruffles in this collection, and showed very little outerwear. The only outerwear piece was a trench coat that was not cut properly. Along with the Cape dresses which had no construction. Unfortunately I think the minus of one has really hurt the momentum of the label.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Designer Luella Bartley focused on embellishing comfortable looks Fall in hopes to bring some decadence into her collection. In the opening section Bartley showed a number of unique looks but she did repeat last season with her dainty and feminine baby doll dresses. But her beaded black pencil skirt, the beading looked like polka dots. From the opening section Bartley started to loose some steam showing some of this seasons trends in lost looks. Like the embroidered denim jackets or the red plaid jacket that was not tailored properly. I also didn’t like that Luella took her polka dot beading and did it on a black vinyl jacket. It was a far stretch for the look, overworked is the message.

For the third section Bartley moved back into her traditional looks. Offering a caramel colored tweed flat front pant with a full leg. As well as a blue and orange tartan dress worn with a purple and black stripe cardigan. The cardigan mixed the Scottish look with French. Another great piece was the black satin pencil skirt that gathered at the stitch to create a wrinkled look. Bartley also showed another baby doll dress in the closing section. I have to admit the black satin baby doll dress dill fit into the collection.

The must have pieces from this collection included the black satin pencil skirt with tuxedo ruffles in black satin running down the front of the skirt. The other must have piece is the pink cheetah print skirt worn with a pale pink satin blouse with a peter pan collar. Luella Bartley provided a very girly and feminine collection for Fall. A collection that is all about pieces and mixing and matching.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Christophe Lemaire is proof of how the world music and film is destroying the Fashion industry. The rampant attendance of celebrities at shows is destroying the fabric of history that designers have built over the past 80 years. Some Designers today are starting to abandon the craft and its driving force for creativity, for the celebrity image and the money that comes with it. At Lacoste, designer Christophe Lemaire has bowed to the hip-hop world for his Fall/Winter collection. From the looks to the pieces and right to the front row.

Lemaire’s pallet for Fall is all about color, but colors that are out of season. From teal, purple, yellow and green to red’s and hot pinks. Unfortunately Lamaire’s combinations seem to be off as well, like the Neapolitan combination (vanilla, strawberry and chocolate) on knits, skirts and shirts. Lemaire showed a number of this season top trends. From his velvet skirts, cut too short to his abundant use of leather. Most of the leather pieces really did not fit the overall look of the collection.

Christophe did show several key pieces in the collection, like the v-neck sweaters with a wide-open neckline. As well as the gray suede jacket with a gray shearling lining. We’ve seen several shearling coats this season; the striking look of this piece is solely in the coloring. While these looks were very soft and fit the traditional Lacoste look, several looks shown fell rout of bounds. Like the abundant use of pinstripes in several looks, it’s to serious for Lacoste. As well as Lamaire’s use of broad horizontal and vertical strip pieces, to confusing to the eye and not a clean look for the collection.

The must have pieces from the collection is the brown and orange strip hat and matching scarf. As well as any of the button down cotton dress with horizontal stripe or solid. Lacoste is always about color, this Fall the designer and his team add too much color and too many spring colors, like orange sherbet, lime green and yellow. The looks were to street/hip-hop for the Lacoste label. The world of fashion needs to move away from this whole need for celebrity to bring in the money.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Donna Karan always seems to be in the fast lane here and there. Some seasons she is head on, others she’s over on the shoulder. For Fall/Winter Karan and her DKNY design team leaned to dark Karan look with splashed here and there for life. The runway became a literal roadway of models parading in a number this season’s trend. The opening section of the collection seemed to drag along the roadway. Very little inspiration or life in this section.

For the second section, Karan moved into loosely tailored pieces and looks, like the black wool dress with the white dress shirt underneath. A masculine look but a great shape for Fall. Another amazing shape was Karan’s take on this season bubble skirt trend. A short version, where most designers have opted for knee length bubble skirt. Karan mini-version shown in a muted teal/black contrast print crepe fabric. The subtle volume of the skirt is feminine, while the short length is very sexy.

Karan also tackled other trends of the season, including the plaid trend. Karan’s plaid is a teal and brown watercolor plaid print, very striking with the teal. She showed is on wool skirt and overcoat. Knitwear was also a must have in this collection. From oversized wool sweaters to the burgundy chunky knit overcoat with big button. While these trends were a hit in the collection,

Karan did struggle with other trends. For example, her velvet dresses had too much volume and the neon yellow used on a skirts and dresses. The neon yellow is too summer, while other designers have opted for canary, mustard yellow. Overall the colors in the DKNY collection were very washed out or the mixing of dark pallet with the colors dulled the luster.

The must have piece from the collection is the burgundy crepe dress with a purple satin band around hem of the dress. The crepe is gathered around the waist creating wrinkled look to the dress, a great dress to travel with. Another trend look for the collection is all the hats Karan and her design team showed. From riding hats in tweed to oversized ball cap in wool and tweed. The collection is certainly dark collection, trademark for Karan. But she does offer some unique pieces in the collection. Bravo Madame Karan!

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After the Doo.Ri show, editors and buyers were all smiles. The next morning Doo.Ri was all over the fashion headlines from New York to Tokyo. Even the world of bloggers went Gaga for Doo.Ri. Bottom line they have every reason to do so! The collection as a whole was crowning for the designer. From Windsor checks to pink sweaters and lot and lots of Ruffles! Designer Doo-Ri Chung took a page right out of men’s fashion weeks in Paris and Milan.

The first section was nothing but various looks with the classic Windsor check fabric. Starting with a Windsor check on thick a silk fleece jacket with a large ruffled collar. Then came the Windsor check pants, a straight leg pant cuffed all the way to the floor. Worn with a blue/gray cashmere sleeveless top draped like a blanket. Although Chung may have gone a little overboard with the ruffles, the overall look she created is very feminine. Showing a number a cashmere sweaters in pale pink and off-white with ruffle rosette collars or embellishments. Worn with a silk satin skirt with lace overlaid around the waist of the skirt.

I was not keen on the leather pieces, but I did understand the need for some black leather. So much softness in the collection, one does need a touch of hardness to balance it out. Doo.Ri continued to show several more Windsor check pieces. I didn’t really like the Windsor check dress with black tulle covering the bodice. But I love the full skirt cut to boot length. The tailoring of the paint was near perfect, when the model walked down the runway, it seemed to be walking the model.

The closing section of the collection was the crowning glory. Although I did not like the gold satin dresses, Doo.Ri showed several amazing evening pieces. Starting with the strapless mauve crepe dress trimmed with lace along the top. And the pale yellow silk satin dress with pale gold tulle draped down the front of the dress. The whole evening section had everyone squirming in his or her seats. Two bloggers already had their computers out and posting reviews.

The must have piece of the collection was the last look shown in the collection. The dress is a black silk satin and chiffon combination gown with a plunging neckline and spaghetti strap. To finish off the look was black and gray silk fleece Windsor check print shoulder cape with a large ruffled collar. At the close of the show, I had to concur that this was one of Doo.Ri’s best collections to date. Backstage she was mobbed by editors and press and showered with affection. So from Turlie I simply say Bravo Mademoiselle Chung!

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oscar De La Renta has always been a many of leisure and travel. This season is a perfect example of his knowledge of travel and the world around us. My first impression of the collection was I felt like I was off for a trip to Switzerland. Showing a large number of his looks and pieces with FUR. Another big trend for Fall/Winter, and we are not talking about Faux Fur, the real thing! Oscar did not show a large knitwear selection but the few numbers are certainly a great offering, like the khaki cashmere cable knit sweater.

In the opening section De La Renta focused on the ladies for day with a full leg pants and a lot of outwear options. From large overcoats to fur trimmed jackets and capes. I particularly took a liking of the tweed overcoat with the sprinkling of beading around the coat. As well as the brown wool jacket with short sleeves, So 60’s Saint Laurent!

The second section shifted De La Renta’s focus to the cocktail dress. Shifting from the suede skirts in the opening section to dresses of tulle and lace. I love the lace and tulle dresses in black with teal or burgundy beading on the bodice. Another great black dress was the black tulle dress with the bubble lace top with a black satin ribbon collar. An interesting coincidence were the floral taffeta dresses remind me of the Carolina Herrera printed taffeta dresses we saw the other day.

Black and midnight blue were the colors buyers were chatting about post show. For his evening section, De La Renta spared to expense to make each look very sophisticated and striking. This season Oscar steered away from heavy embellishments and focused on the colors and draping. The most notables were a black Spanish lace gowns. Like, the gown with a ribbon around the waist and layers of ruffles along the hem of the gown. Unfortunately De La Renta gave into this season velvet and metallic trend and showed a red velvet dress with shredded red silk along the bottom. The model struggled to walk down the runway.

The must have pieces from this collection were the two large ball gowns. First was the beaded black bubble lace top with a white silk taffeta skirt. The other is the pale pink silk satin strapless gown, which just floated down the runway. Oscar De La Renta is a master of fine details and certainly creates American Couture every season. I know there is no such thing, but his at that level. This collection is certainly a classic De La Renta collection but the number sellable pieces had the buyers a little gitty with excitement post show. Bravo Monsieur De La Renta!

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Posted by turlie at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Design maven’s Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock look at the 40’s for their recent collection for their label Vena Cava. The duo hosted a studio showcase of the collection, setting up four stations as rooms in an apartment. Models moved and posed for photographers and eventually lost focus on their job. Now I am not a big fan of shows where the design has created an intricate environment to showcase the collection, you attention gets drawn from the subject hindering your focus.

The collection was relatively small this season with only twenty something looks overall. The common inspiration was a triangle print the duo had found recently and molded a number of looks on. The ladies reworked the print into their own. There were handful of great pieces in the collection but the wondering interest of the models posing in the rooms deflected your attention.

I particularly love the empire waist ankle length dress that designers use the triangle print. Unfortunately the model was so bored she only faced the buyers and editors when a camera was in front of her. I think I am jaded on the models performance because the Buhai and Mayock booked modeling icon Carmen Dell’ Orifice to be in their show.

Carmen has now been for almost 65 years and she’s only 75+. Carmen is the models, models! The oldest model in the show could not have been any older than 19. Looking at Carmen who modeled like the Avedon Muse that she is, was breathtaking! What was interesting is only 3 girls really understood who Carmen was and started to mimic her, which is a good thing these girls really need to learn from a master like Carmen.

Overall the collection had a few standout pieces like the black sleeveless top with sheer ribbing. But a number of looks contained unfinished pieces like the brown dress with red striping at the bottom. The red fabric was puling away from the dress and two spaghetti strap tops were sewn incorrectly with the straps off center. I hope next season the duo spend more time on their execution rather than the detail.

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

TSE has struggled the last couple of years to find a designer who will really stick with the label. For their Fall/Winter collection we were treated to the first collection of recently appointed Tess Giberson. A fellow RISDite! For her first collection with TSE, Giberson focused her energy on classic TSE knitwear and creating new looks. For the opening of the collection Giberson jumped right into the knitwear. Presenting a chunky off-white cashmere cable knit cardigan and sweater. Work with simple tank tops and knee high stockings, which I was not to fond of.

From the cable knits Tess showed several cashmere knit dresses. Including my favorite, a pale yellow turtleneck dress. In second section of the collection Giberson started to have her fun with texture and weave patterns. One of my favorite knits was floral doily weave pattern that was shown in light gray jacket and in two dresses of white and mauve. The intricate weave is amazing, from away it really covers the models but up close you can see just a little skin between the weave.

The must have accessory was any of the ruby red heels worn through the entire collection. Something about a pale yellow knit dress worn with red heels is just striking. As for the collection itself, the must have pieces are the off-white turtleneck cashmere knit full-length dress with a loose basket weave knit around the neck and the hem of the dress. The other was the angora knit skirt with wide band of white silk chiffon trimming the sides and hem of the skirt. Mixed emotions floated at the exit of the collection, personally I though Giberson put together a great first collection, very strict to the TSE style but innovative enough to buy. Bravo Mademoiselle Giberson.

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Posted by turlie at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alexander McQueen's new footwear line with Puma is do out this month. More than likely they will release the collection - coinciding with London Fashion Week which begins Sunday, Feb. 12th.....For now - Puma has their official site for the McQueen's line ManCat.

Posted by turlie at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So with one episode left of the Project Runway before the final 3 have chossen. The secrets were kept tight this season, filming was to complete in early September of last year. Then came the knews during production that NY Fashion Week was being rescheduled for the Fall shows. So due to the time constraint, producers showed the final 4 designers. So those attending the Bryant Park Fashion show don't know who the final 3 are - keeping the integrity of the final episode. I didn't think Kara's was the best.

Rumor has it that Chloe is not in the final 3! Judging from her frown while introducing her collection, compared to Daniel, Satino & Kara's all smiles, maybe it's true.

Over at the MADE IN BRAZIL blog, they had friend with a video camera at the show - enjoy the fotage - View It Here

	Daniel Vosovic's Collection
	Kara Janx's Collection
	Santino Rice's Collection
	Chloe Dao's Collection

Posted by turlie at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had the pleasure of quick chat with model Irina Lazareanu this week and her new haircut. What is interesting is how designers, show after show, seem to style Irina into looking like Chrissie Hynde from “The Pretenders”.

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For Claude Morais and Brian Wolk, Fall/Winter is all about pleasing the woman who can’t handle change. The duo has been tied with De La Renta for the past couple of seasons and it’s obvious they draw some inspirations from the designer.

For their Fall collection they focused on creating looks with numerous texture and less on the details. In the opening section I loved the tweed plaid print the duo used on a A-line skirt, a dress and jacket. I love the combination of light blue with the gray and purple. Morais and Wolk attempted to incorporate this season’s velvet. Showing it in a balloon dress with looked to deflate and a open shoulder velvet dress which was not cut properly and moved uncomfortably on the models.

The design duo opted to only use one print in this collection, a small Ginkgo print on silk chiffon and silk crepe. The print was also blown up and used on a dress and gown for the evening section. The stand out pieces with this print is a blouse that has both chiffon and crepe tailored together to create a modern top. For the closing section the designers showed a number of evening gowns in a range of colors, but were all cut long in length. The models had a tough time walking in the gowns.

The must have piece of the collection was a black satin bubble skirt with a fitted waist that tapers down to the bubble. The overall look of the Ruffian collection is very frumpy and old lady. There is no real new looks through out the collection, each piece appeared to recreations of pieces past with no edits for the future.

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Posted by turlie at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Barrett’s in winter is so chic, it seems as though every designer this season is adding hats to their accessories table. At BCBG designer Max Azria has shifted the look of the BCBG brand away from” Chic Sexy City Sophisticate”, which his been showing for over 5 years now. This season Azria has moved away the sexy look and opted for a fully clothed, intelligent and stylish woman. Hats like berets and caps along with black and white eyeglasses (not sunglasses) to finish the intelligent looks of the models.

For Fall/Winter Azria’s let the form of the looks be built on the loose for of all the pieces. For the opening section Azria was a little weak in building this new image, several pieces had flower embellishments, which killed the look he was building. In the second section he really start to take off, showing more knitwear and outerwear with each look. I loved all the turtleneck sweater dresses in olive green and light gray. Paired with matching knit leggings, very smart and decadent.

Knitwear is the key buy for the BCBG client; Azria offered a large number of knitwear pieces. Ranging from cardigans, sweaters, coat and even shorts. Yes, knit shorts, a light brown cashmere knit short with a button fly, genius! Another great knitwear piece is the long cardigan with a olive green weave that looks like tweed on the top half. On the bottom have is solid weave of honey brown with a little green in the color.

For outerwear Azria and his design team focused on giving the BCBG client option with very little gray area. Showing a large number of wool overcoats that are loosely tailored. And in a wide range of colors like the white wool overcoats or olive green knit coats. The must have outerwear piece from collection is certainly the rust color pallet herringbone tweed overcoat. The coat was tailored loosely around the waist and tight in the shoulders.

Although the opening of the collection was slow and a little off the track. For closing section Azria amped it up with a large number of powerful pieces. Like the burgundy cable knit jacket worn over baggy tweed shorts. Or the light brown knit cocktail dress with matching leggings. Or the white wool overcoat with arm slits under the sleeves for the model to position their arms and hands freely.

The must have piece of the collection is certainly the look on Jessica Stam. A white wool trench coat with a light brown cashmere knit dress over an off-white turtleneck sweater and matching leggings. The collection is great change for BCBG and certainly a statement to women that less is no longer more. Bravo Monsieur Azria!

view collection here

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Posted by turlie at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For Jenni Kayne the pallet is about earth tone with a spectrum of primary colors. Well at least in her use of navy blues browns and yellows. In the opening section Kayne adopted long is sexier for her dress and outerwear is where the money is. Showing a plevee of outerwear pieces. Most were simple capes and trenches, but the stand out piece was double-breasted waist-length tweed jacket with short sleeves.

The collection was relatively small and lacked any strong looks. Kayne attempted to incorporate other trends from this season. Like her dark green shearling covered jacket which was too bulky. Kayne also opted to incorporate polka dots. Overall Kayne attempts to make the collection tailored but then slowly add de-constructed pieces that have no form, like the frumpy dresses in the second section. The must have piece of the collection is the mustard yellow satin dress with pleats along the hem.

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Grunge this, Grunge that, everyone screaming Grunge before the show was even over! At Marc Jacobs, the designer proclaimed he was not sure where to go with his Fall collection, so he looked to his friends and the winter season build a look. Do I have to remind all you Grunge on the brain people, that we’ve seen plaid and tartan’s non-stop for the past 4 weeks and we still have 4 more weeks to go! Please get past the plaids; this collection really escapes the need to conform to trends.

My first impression was not the excessive use of plaid in the opening section. It was Jacob’s use of textures and layering of fabrics. In the opening section the obvious standout pieces were the plaid overcoats. But I also loved the ribbon and patent leather trimmed white wool coat. I also loved the fact that Jacobs was also adopting new baggy pant leg we are seeing more and more. I did not like the velvet pieces with a rosette flower cutouts.

For the first section Jacobs focused on layering. From layering fabrics in single pieces to layering pieces on top of pieces to create a modern look. Like, the layering of a blazer over a skirt on top of a pant. While Jacobs was focused on these layers he crafted some real standout outwear pieces. Even one of the best capes I have seen this season. I didn’t like the leather skirt, which was tailored to look like a coat tied around the models waits. The models seemed to struggle while walking in it.

Basket Weave, every so often both during menswear week in Paris and Milan, and here in New York we have seen more use of basket weave patterns. Jacob’s basket weave tweed skirt was a perfect example. Then Jacob’s topped that look with his basket weave knit dress in a olive green. A severe must have for the fashionista! The collection as whole may not look to feminine, but it really makes a strong statement.

Jacob’s showed a lot of knitwear this season, the options are endless. From sleeveless sweater, knit capes, vests to long cardigans. The only real weak points of the collection were the mushroom knit hats, the sequined sweaters and lame balloon pants. There were so many must have piece in the collection. For outerwear I loved the gray wool overcoat with a large band of leather along the hem.

I was also crazy for the gold tiger print jacket with burgundy leather bodice and fox trim along the hem. This is where Jacobs really explored the use of textures. He also showed a sleeveless burgundy dress with multi-texture panels (sequins, pleats, suede). For evening Jacobs kept to some of his classic long gowns. Jacobs showed several black tulle and chiffon gowns in the evening section. Embellished with beading and metallic tiles.

The must haves for this collection are certainly in great numbers. If I have to narrow it down, it would be all of his outerwear, but most certainly his heavy wool plaid over coat (I think my mom has something similar to it back in the 70’s.) I would also have chosen any of Marc’s baggy pants in wool or tweed. Jacob’s commented backstage that friends were the inspiration of this collection. When the collection slowly came down the runway, images of Sofia Coppola, Zoë Cassavetties and Lou Doillon and her sister Charlotte popped into my head.

Although the forms are bulky and “disheveled” they are really perfect. Overall this collection is genius because it caters to any woman, skinny, heavy, tall or short. This collection is all about pieces. On side note, several models commented, post show, how uncomfortable the shoes were in the collection, too bad because they were cute. Bravo Monsieur Jacobs!

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You can download teaser's for the Karl Lagerfeld Fall Collection which is showing TODAY!

Click Image to Download Karl Lagerfeld Teaser

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Straight from Paris, Menswear trends are slowly seeping their way into womenswear collections left and right. For Fall/Winter Carolina Herrera focused on bundled up look. In the opening section Herrera she jumped into such trends as Windsor Check, Animal prints, Plaids and this season’s bottle green. First I was delighted to see so many baggy pants on the Herrera runway. Second her tailored Windsor check suits and skirts were not only classy but also very young with their honey brown colors. I wish I could say the same for Herrera’s plaid; the light green and brown combination was too muted. The overall inspiration and look of the collection, certainly is drawn from the 30’s and 40’s.

In second section of the collection, Herrera focused on all the little details. She showed a number of cocktail dresses in this section, some overworked like the eggshell satin dress with a v-shaped lace neckline. The details and beading on the dress was too much. But she did show a series of other cocktail dresses there were each unique. Like the black strapless taffeta cocktail dress with nude and white panels covered in sprinkled beading cascading away from the waist. Tied around the waist is a band of orange and red satins. I would love to have seen it without black hosiery.

For the evening section, Carolina played with teals and oranges in series of chiffon dresses with scoop necks. I was not too impressed with the orange silk gown with beaded sunbursts. The evening section overall was a little weak, what I found was Carolina was pairing looks or pieces that didn’t fit the overall look she was trying to achieve. Like the floor length draped satin skirt in teal with a plunging neckline of black satin overlaid with black lace, the combination was off! What was certainly on was Herrera’s choice of footwear; I love the red suede and tweed heels.

There were two must have looks from this collection. First was the geometric aqua print dress with beading on the bodice and hem. At first the geometric fabric reminded me of a 40’s tablecloth. The dress is modern but very sexy. The other is the purple satin collared gown with fur-trimmed sleeves. The models makeup focused on a pale, pale lip and a matte face. They eyes had a smokey shadow on the brow line and white shimmer on the inner eye. The bone straight hair is what might have killed the overall look of this collection.

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For her Fall/Winter collection, Diane Von Furstenberg takes her signature philosophy of prints and mixes them with the workingwoman of the 40’s. Her emphasis of prints literally morphs classic collared dresses and wool overcoats into modern pieces for the 21st century woman. To open her collection she just threw her obsession for prints into the guest’s faces. Showing a large black and white hound’s-tooth print and a red and black plaid print, together! Decadent!

What is unique about this collection is Von Furstenberg’s nod to the 40’s looks from Dior and Jean Charles, flowing silhouettes below the waist with masculine accents above. Diane even showed a earthy brown plaid dress in chiffon. But, the striking dress in this section was the chiffon dress with a brown and white print that resembles a tweed fabric.

For Fall, Furstenberg focused not only on her dresses but her outerwear, another big trend this season. Showing a number of standout looks, which mirrored the 40’s, like the large hound’s-tooth print wool jackets. She also moved into a New Mexico theme, showing a Indian print overcoat and wool poncho with desert coloring.

Furstenberg opted to only show a few pant looks this season. The pants were loose and not tapered at all, like the brown Windsor check taffeta pant. Although Furstenberg was focused on the 40’s shape and styling, she did bring a few of this seasons trends into her collection. Some of the looks that didn’t fit were her use of animal prints. She did show a large number of great knitwear pieces. Including some of the best cardigans, like the Irish green cardigan and knit full-length coat with a New Mexico Indian design.

For the evening section, Furstenberg lost a little steam in the evening section of the collection. Only showing a handful of looks that could be good sells. The must have pieces from the collection is certainly the Zigzag pencil skirt and the red and black gingham print collared dress. Furstenberg also kept to the new hair trend of the “BUN”. Overall I clapped with excitement, the collection had some lulls but Diane crafted a sellable and visionary collection. Bravo Madame Furstenberg!

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Off the beaten path of the Bryant tents, designer Jasmin Shokrian showed her second collection. Sadly when you arrive at such shows, a lot of the regulars are crabby and bitchy about having to schlep across town to see just one show. What’s even more annoying is to see and hear the frustration intensify when they don’t like the collection. My mindset is I am lucky to be invited.

To open her Fall/Winter collection Shokrian focused on long skirts, below the knee with a taper at the hem. Not quite a pencil skirt! The pallet overall is very monochromatic – keeping in the gray and blue families. Shokrian’s focus was on less detail and more on the form of her collection. Model after model was draped, cut and then the only details was a pinning at the hem. Very clean and very simple! For some people, you might see this as minimalist. But Shokrian does make an effort to give you different take on shape.

I was excited to see Jasmin use some texture by adding a tweed fabric here and there. I particularly liked the tweed dress and skirts with the pinned hem. Although Shokrian scares away from the use of prints she did mange to show a small dot print on chiffon for a blouse and dress. On a side note, I loved that Shokrian was adamant that each look be worn with a slip underneath. To have a little lace or satin peaking out of the hemline gave the pieces just a little femininity.

By the close of the show, some editors bocked about “how boring it was” and “lacked any innovation”. What is interesting is how big editors or buyers don’t pay attention to the little details. Recently I read a blog post by Julie on her blog Almost Girl, about how the fashion show has become less and less a promotional tool. Sadly I agree with this statement, based on the fact that editors and buyers aren’t paying attention at shows…most are there for the STAR factor rather than their job! By the end of the week most editors and buyers are asleep at shows or showing up late! I am not going to name names, right now! have in the past! Overall I think Jasmin put together a very selective and smart collection, even though it’s a little small….Bravo Madame Shokrian!

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Posted by turlie at 04:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the opening of his Fall/Winter collection Marc Badgley and James Mischka focused on decadence and detail. Showing three midnight blue silk taffeta dresses with embroidery on the bodice. The first impression is frilly and baroque, setting us up for opulence and decadence. Sadly the first impression did not fallow through the remaining collection.

Trends were on the design duo’s minds, using a lot of fur through out the collection. They also showed two silver and gold lame dresses, a trend that carried over from Paris. Only a few standout pieces in the opening section, the empire gown with the beading on the bodice. And the strapless hourglass gown with covered in black lace and satin ribbon and bow around the waste, in a Tiffany’s blue.

Badgley Mischka color pallet this season is certainly a focus on the darker end of the color spectrum. A lot of black mixed with canary yellow, red, teak and even last season techno blue. For the second section the duo moved into everyday wear, showing a number of loosely draped pieces, like the satin teal top worn with a black gamine skirt. I also loved their version of this seasons bubble skirt shown in a porcelain blue, a color we saw at the Chanel show last week.

As the show progressed what I found interesting is how many looks seemed to be inspired from other designers works. What prompted this though was the last section of the show. Badgley Mischka opened with several chiffon dresses that looked like something from Herrera. Then came the 80’s red silk taffeta gown, which was mix of 80’s Scassi and Valentino. Thankfully they moved away from the 80’s frilly look and showed some breath taking gowns. Like the purple sating slip gown with red silk petals cascading down the dress.

The two must have from this collection are certainly the white silk satin dress with a fuchsia and black floral print. I love the red and fuchsia ribbon waist and the gold tiger print bust. The other is a black and white column cocktail dress, with black chiffon over a white satin slip dress. Overlaid on the front of the dress is pleated white satin with gold leafs embroidered down the length of the white satin. Badgley Mischka obviously drew inspiration from Alexander McQueen in this dress.

Look makeup was very clean with only a dark liner on the lower eyelid and a nude lip. The hair was groomed back and then shaggy in the back. “Scattered Thoughts”, this season the design duo seems to have lost focus on their overall statement for Fall/Winter. Not to mention the evening gowns lack the Badgley Mischka signature styling and look. I wouldn’t doubt their design team had their hand in this collection more than the namesakes.

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Posted by turlie at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nobody says breaking into the fashion industry was going to be smooth sailing. For Ashleigh Verrier’s second collection, she’s hoped a better understanding of design style and craft. In the program notes Verrier comments repeatedly that Elsa Schiaparelli was her inspiration. Opening the collection you immediately get time warped to the 30’s.

Verrier opened with a navy blue velvet skirt and matching silk blouse. The tailoring is perfect to the original piece back in the 30’s but Verrier offered to alteration in the design. I loved the brown taffeta jacket with black stripes silk-screened on, but the olive satin top and skirt made the jacket muted. In short the collection was a collection of reproduced pieces that have already be produced. Verrier’s ability to create an original piece out is not evident in this collection. Even the gray wool skirt, which she credited 80’s Versace, sorry Norma Kamali did that skirt in jersey before Versace. Overall I love that Verrier took a nod to 30’s and Madam Schiaparelli although there were a few hints of Anne Klein from the 50’s, like the double breasted waist-length camel jacket worn with honey colored velvet Capri pants.

The must have pieces from the collection are the two navy blue wool overcoat with lace detailing on the front and around the sleeve cuff. Along with the brown wool skirt with lace trim along the hem. The vision for Verrier’s Fall collection is certainly centered on turning back the page to pre-war New York.

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As usual Kenneth Cole opens New York Fashion Week, but this time around with very little applause. In the front row was an empty seat in honor of the late Kal Ruttenstein (which some ticket less and clueless fashionista sat in right before the lights went down, and was promptly ejected according to PR rep after the show.) This season Cole and his design team produced a rather small collection, with a total of 28 looks. One editor commented she had so much free time now what was she to do before the next show. Hello Starbucks Break!

Kenneth kept the models look Clean this season. There was very little makeup on the models only a little color on the lip. The hair was pulled back in last season’s ponytail. This set the tone of repeat looks from last season. The first section of the collection was a step in the conservative direction. Showing a number of pencil skirts and covering up the woman’s neck with high collared jackets and blouses. Even the knitwear had a turtleneck or mock neck.

Cole’s pants were loose fit, following the new pants we saw during Paris menswear collections. Although his use of this season’s velvet trend was a little overdone, with two velvet dresses in burgundy and black. The overall look that Cole was creating in the opening section was drawing some ooh’s and aah’s. The inspiration was certainly from 50’s Givenchy with a focus on the outerwear.

In closing section, Kenneth and his design team took off in the wrong direction. The collection went from homage to classic Givenchy looks and tailoring to a lot of last seasons repeats. This included the use last season’s “it” color, techno blue. Also last seasons wrap dresses, which stood out in the collection overall. Cole showed two must have looks for his Fall collection. First were two knit pieces, a dark brown knit dress with a turtleneck and a pale khaki mohair cardigan with high collar. The other piece was a dark olive green wool trench.

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In the program notes for her Fall/Winter collection, Sari Gueron states she drew inspiration from the Danish design firm Wiener Werkstätte that closed right before the start of WWII. Backstage Gueron comments that the challenge was selecting fabrics that would complement the Wiener Werkstätte design styles.

In the opening of a rather small collection, Gueron showed a delicate baby doll dress in a creamy white gamine. The models looks reflect the look of the opening dress. Their hair was pulled up with strands hanging down. The makeup was a clean face with only pink skin tone lip color. My first impression was the models had a porcelain doll look. This theme seemed to also carry into the collection along with modern details.

Gueron kept to a black and white pallet, practically no color. She only used on print in the collection, a brush stroke dot print on chiffon, which she used on a blouse and dress. Gueron kept the details of the fabrics very minimal. She added embellishments here and there. I loved the spider lace dress in both white and black.

For knitwear Gueron didn’t show to many pieces, what she did show did make a statement. For example the off white sweater with an overlapping collar in the front. While the knitwear selection was slim, the number of dresses was great. The standout dress in the closing section was the overlapping horizontal stripe dress where the contrasting strips were sheer. Reminds me of the dress Emmett did on Project Runway, which is also the dress I won at auction!

The must have piece of the collection is the knee-length 30’s camel coat with cape collar. Although Gueron states that her inspiration is Wiener Werkstätte, I was a little lost as to where this inspiration lied in this collection? The inspiration was obvious from the 30’s looks throughout the collection. What is absent is the prints that Wiener Werkstätte were well known for. Even though there widely known for there furnishing. There are certainly a number of sellable looks in this collection, unless the 30’s becomes a big theme during Fashion Week, this is only day one.

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With my Paris Menswear review all posted, it time to start posting Men & Womenswear in New York..........More Plaid and More Velvet....Yeah, Not!

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So first I have to begin my review of the Dior Homme collection with a little first impression in the opening section. Someone on Hedi Slimane’s production has a obvious ear fetish. Practically every male model had big ears; we are talking about “Dumbo” ears. For Fall/Winter Dior kept with his philosophy that black looks great on everyone.

In the opening section Slimane showed a new Dior evening trench coat. A dark charcoal gray wool that has been tailored into section. The front lapel of the coat have been cut into straps the bottom onto the opposing side, leaving a wide opening in the front of the coat. The innovation that reminds me of the late Stephen Sprouse. Slimane’s suits for Fall/Winter have taken on a familiar and new shape. The designer kept with the tapered pant leg and focused his energy the tailoring the shoulders and the back close to the model. At first glance the suit shape looks like an arch, with the pant tapered at the ankle and the jacket tight in the shoulders.

Inspirations have certainly been familiar from collection to collection, from Milan to Paris. This season Slimane continues to focus on his own inspirations and individuality. Obvious inspirations are Austria, French nautical and the opera. I love the collarless Austrian inspired jacket in gray wool with black wool trim. Slimane only dabbled with the nautical them by showing a few collarbone neck long sleeve shirts. And the Slimane black wool sailor pant, with a baggy leg and gray wool striping running around the front of the pant. Creating a picture frame image on the pant.

The highlight of the opening section was Slimane’s black wool pants with a denim waistline. If this sounds familiar, we saw it at Dolce & Gabbana two weeks ago. For the second section Slimane and his design team focused on new black suits and outerwear. Hedi showed his only trendy item of the season, a dark black collegiate coat shown as a evening coat. A great idea! Slimane start shift away from the tapered pant leg and give several chunky tweed and wool pants a full leg.

For close of his Fall collection, Slimane saved the best for last. First he showed remastered version of his beaded Bolero jacket, which he showed last season and is used in his Spring ad campaign. This season he focused on the beading details of the jacket, forming it into a couture piece. Although the Slimane’s black tuxedos don’t change to much from season to season, he makes sure he gets your attention to the details he adds to the look. This season Hedi showed the tuxedos with various versions of black satin and taffeta dress shirts, Toping off these decadent shirts were 2inch black satin ribbon double tied bow ties.

There are two must have pieces of the collection. First is either of Slimane’s dark gray trench coats, the open front trench or the classic Dior trench with the tapered shoulders. Finally there is black taffeta floor length opera coat. The coat is a classic and certainly draws inspiration from Belalogis’s “Dracula”. Hedi Slimane’s focus this season is certainly pinned pointed in the right direction. He crafted yet again, a near flawless collection. Continuing to move the Dior client into new directions and looks. Bravo Monsieur Slimane.

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For Men’s, its French beatnik meets Scottish and Louis XIV classique, For Women its Annie Hall meet Jane Birkin. Jean Paul Gaultier comments in the liner notes that the inspiration for his Fall/Winter collection is 60’s love birds Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. In short this collection lifted a lot of tired grins and lazy eyebrows. Editors and Buyers as well as many, many male admirers and clients packed into the large space on the Rue Saint Martin for Gaultier’s show. Opening the collection Gaultier showed an oversize burgundy trench coat, which got applause over the client section. I was giving it silent claps in my head.

What was really evident in the first section is that Gaultier focused on making the women’s looks more masculine while them men’s looks were softer and were less tailored like the women’s. The women’s collection had more of a 70's Annie Hal lookl. In the opening section Gaultier showed several men’s outwear pieces. I loved the honey yellow silk taffeta overcoat but didn’t like the silver lame jacket.

From the contemporary pieces, Gaultier moved into classic pieces like the burgundy 18th century ridding cape that he shaped into a trench-cape. Even classic Scottish kilts took on new lengths. Jean Paul showed a handful of ankle-length kilts in different tartans. The last classic piece was the Louis XIV period pants in wool and denim.

Gaultier fell victim to some of this season trends, like leather jacket with shearling trim and velvet suits. Sadly none of those looks really got a second glance. One shearling coat did start a lot of chitchatting around me, the black wool cape covered with panels of long black shearling. Personally I love the piece, a real point high to Gaultier’s collection. The memorable looks were polka dot prints used on scarves, shirts and suits.

The must have pieces of the collection are the waist-length tuxedos or the waist-length black leather jacket with black shearling lining the front of the jacket. Monsieur Gaultier’s Fall/Winter collection is a nod back to his day of building a collection off of many inspirations that have one common theme. Bravo Monsieur Gaultier!

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Last season designer Oswald Boateng got a lot of flack for toning down his Spring collection for the House of Givenchy. This season, Boateng commented that his no longer going to tone down his collections and start adding color to give the Givenchy collection some life. For the opening section Oswald showed a number of looks with tapered leg pant but slowly added more full leg pants. Shift from tweed to wool and even this seasons velvet. In the opening the look was this seasons English classic looks. From the Windsor check suits and pants to the bulky wool and tweed pants paired with contrasting vests. Boateng’s focus this season is certainly on Givenchy outerwear, the main trend for Fall/Winter. His first outerwear look was perfection, a bottle green suede waist length coat. I must have it!

Oswald Boateng does dabble with a few of this season’s trends but he did hope to continue on with some looks we saw last season, Like the baseball sweaters and last seasons “it” color, techno blue! Sadly these looks were not any must haves. One trend that Boateng hit was his velvet blazer and pants in a rich rust color. For the second section he showed more outwear pieces including a full-length gray knit jacket with matching knit scarf.

Although gingham has not traditionally been a Fall/Winter fabric, Oswald really used the fabric in strong looks, which tones down the loud print. He also explored this year’s trend of shearling in a wool tweed overcoat with a heavy shearling color. This coat will certainly be seen around the slopes next season.

The must have pieces at Givenchy are endless. Although I have narrowed it down to two looks. First are the velvet pinstripe jackets in rust or dark hunter green with a matching vest. The second are Boateng’s wool herringbone overcoats. Show in a dark brown and honey brown with a jean or corduroy pant and cardigan.Oswald Boateng has kept his promise; Givenchy has been given a new life. I am sure Monsieur Givenchy is watching the DVD of the show right about now and clapping with excitement. Boateng’s powerful use of color didn’t go overboard. It was near perfect! Bravo Monsieur Boateng!

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Season after season the House of Ungaro has suffered the same fete as other great French houses like Givenchy and Ribanne. The pain of finding talent that can carry out the traditions of the legacy that has already been mapped by their founder. Although history does prove that it takes several years before they can find the one. It took Chanel over 30 years to land Lagerfeld and some houses get lucky right away like Dior with Saint Laurent. Although the great one’s go onto becoming great craftsman's themselves.

For Fall/Winter the house of Ungaro’s chief designer José Lévy focused on creating a new vision for the Ungaro Man. Now Emmanuelle Ungaro never really focused to much energy on crafting his menswear. His focus was to keep with his love of color and prints and his passion of tailoring. Lévy lost focus this season by abandoning all three together. Lévy only showed two prints, a honeycomb print and a Hawaiian contrast print. Which was one of only a few must have pieces in the collection.

In the opening section Lévy concentrated the use of color into monotone looks. But his overall use of color was molded around a dark color pallet. The first color was a dark burgundy then moving into a dark gray. Lévy used the dark burgundy in several looks, too many looks overall! I did like a few of the suits but their overall tailoring was far from the quality or form we’ve come to expect from Ungaro. Lévy’s tailoring seems to be more relaxed, creating an overall messy look on each model. Even Lévy ‘s pants are not cut properly. As the models walked down the runway their packages seemed to shift all over the place. Even in the fabrics did Lévy miss the Ungaro philosophy, using stretch jersey in pants and cotton twill for several blazers.

Over all Lévy did create a bland Ungaro collection, which is like creating a Lacroix collection with out color. In the closing section Lévy really went out on a limb. With no color for two thirds of the collection, he gives us White, Bright Purple and Pink. Sadly the color is wasted on pieces that don’t fit the collection. Like Rizzo’s Hot Pink Ladies Outfit, pink satin jacket and all. I had to put a picture of it up to show everyone. How Awful, I know! The only must have item in the collection were the burgundy tuxedo jackets with beading and embroidery. I am hoping that next season Monsieur Lévy will spend some time in the archives before molding his next collection.

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Designer Paul Smith focuses his Fall/Winters looks on combining the American turn of the century west and English lords of the early 20th century. Smith focused on many of this season trends, from plaids, the west and even using velvet. In the opening section Smith showed only 3 pieces with a green and pale blue plaid. The standout look was a plaid blazer worn with a brown wool vest with orange pinstripe and honey brown corduroy pants.

Smith closed the first section of the collection a number of outerwear pieces. Another big trend this season, but Smith did create several standout shearling coats of the season. My favorite being the orange/brown stained leather overcoat with a honey colored shearling lining inside and on the collar and lapels. Worn with the same dark brown wool suit with orange pin striping, another standout look in this collection.

Although Smith did show some looks with a tapered leg pant. Smith did focus on offering the Paul Smith client a fuller leg pant. In the second section Smith showed more corduroy, on jacket and vest as well as pants. He also showed more knitwear, including this season big trend item, Cardigans. All of the cardigans in the Smith collection are great buy for the season, minus the Navahos print.

The collection then took a turn for the worse. Paul opted to shift into this season’s western trend and go a little overboard with the overall look. Showing small ribbon ties, embroidered checks shirts and boot cut pants. The must have piece from Paul Smith is certainly his light gray wool suit with white contrast stitching on both the jacket and pant. Smith showed both a sellable and wearable collection for his clients. But the Smith didn’t really produce any standout looks that distinguish him from the rest of the pack. Hoping for change in the next season!

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Posted by turlie at 03:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For his fourth collection for Saint Laurent, designer Stefano Pilati really showed how much understands the Saint Laurent philosophy. What is really interesting about this collection is that Pilati not only looked at prior menswear collections but womenswear as well. There are certainly some feminine touches in this collection. Which overall softens the very masculine style of the Saint Laurent eveningwear and sportswear.

In the opening section Pilati bowed to this seasons trend of using plaid. Showing several plaid blazers and overcoats. My favorite was the fur collar overcoat, a classic Saint Laurent tailored coat, which softened by the use of plaid. Pilati continued to more outerwear in the opening section. Shifting from a camel coats and jacket with black/red plaid, paired with matching vests. The must have piece in this section was the bomber jacket covered with faux fur with a leather collar and trim.

Pilati has abandoned the tapered pant we’ve seen for the last 4 seasons. For whole collection he showed a full or baggy leg pant that was either hemmed short or long. Stefano also showed all the pants with a pleated front, adding to the overall baggy leg look, love it. Several designers this season has attempted to incorporate shearling into their outerwear. Pilati showed three near perfect shearling coats. The outside is all leather and the collar and inside is lined with a short hair shearling.

This full figure or tailoring Pilati was focusing on gave the collection a softer look. At the close of the show, Pilati showed an all black cape lined with pink satin. At first I would have expected Katoucha or LouLou De Falaise sashaying under such a striking cape. Instead it was male model, I loved it. The must have piece from the collection is the black cable knit smoking jacket, an homage to Saint Laurent’s le smoking look from the 70’s.

Overall there were only two looks that I didn’t like in this collection. First was the ostrich leather coat with a fur collar. Then there were all the pant cuffs that were tucked into skinny dress boots, which made the models look like chickens. The one look that Pilati used repeatedly and really made a statement was the pairing of a tweed jacket with a wool pants or otherwise. The crowning moment of the collection was Stefano Pilati’s bow at the close of the show. Pilati appeared in tweed and wool combo suit worn with a dark vest and a pink scarf under the jacket. Bravo Monsieur Pilati!

view collection here

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Racing around Paris can be very dizzying, especially going from one show to the next in one location. The killer is traveling out for just one show, that’s where you car and drive come in handy. For Hermes editors and buyers made there way back to the Couvent des Cordeliers a second time for this week. Earlier in the week Yoji Yamamoto showed at the Couvent des Cordeliers. Don’t worry there is another show there later in the week.

For Fall/Winter 2006 Hermes designer Véronique Nichanian continue the tradition of providing a high-end look for the Hermes clientele. The focus of the collection is certainly to produce high quality pieces that will fit in with the trends of the season. Nichanians’ focus was on this season’s trend of using plaids, velvet and knitwear options. For the opening section Nichanian and her team showed a number of tailored suits with tapered legged pants. I did like the dark brown suit pinstripe suit worn with a bright red satin shirt.

With so much darkness shadowing the Fall/Winter collection, any color is a breath of life. For Fall Nichanian focused on one color to make a statement, RED! She showed red on everything from knitwear, outerwear, shoes and pants. The striking pieces were the candy apple red sweaters and satin print shirts. She also likes to hide red all over the place, like the dark gray wool jacket with red panels on the underarm of the sleeve.

For outerwear Nichanian kept the structure very simple and clean. Shearling is favorite look for some designers this season. At Hermes there were a couple of shearling coats, which did not fit into the overall look of the collection. Véronique did show suede and patent leather bomber jackets in the Candy Apple Red, which will be hot sell items for Hermes.

The must have pieces from this collection also include the cashmere and merino wool cardigans. These two-tone cardigans in all red or black are sophisticated and young. I am also a little nuts over the red velvet pants, yes I know their velvet. This was Véronique Nichanian first collection for Hermes and I must say she put together a very exceptional collection. Bravo Madame Nichanian!

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Ann Demeulemeester has been described by fashion critics as the anti=Rykiel of Parisian fashion. Bringing her style and looks right off the streets of Paris. This seasons Madam Demeulemeester focused her collection on an icon rather than looking to the streets. For Fall/Winter Ann called on her friend and mentor musician Patti Smith and her masculine and morbid rock style. To be honest when the show started and the first two models came walking down the runway, I whispered “Carol Anne, Carol Anne, walk towards the light Carol Anne” – I am sorry my first impression was the eerie preacher from the “Poltergeist” Movies.

In the opening section, Ann was content in showing a number of silver lame pants and blazer, a look we did see in Milan. A look that was done two season’s to go, although when I think lame I don’t think Patti, I think Bowie. The designer chose to show several velvet looks, including a suit, jackets and pants. We all know I am not a big fan of this season Velvet trends but some designers have surprised me.

The second section shed a little hope on a rather weak collection. For knitwear Demeulemeester showed several knit sweaters that stood out in the overall rocker look. I especially loved her oversized black cardigans with a chunky weave knit. Sweaters aside the designer tried to give emphasis on her outerwear. The leather pirate jacket and 70’s leather smoking jacket (very St. Laurent).

The must have piece from this collection was the black leather jacket with a cascading fur collar. The obvious inspiration for this collection in the end is Patti Smith. The singer and songwriter even graced the catwalk modeling a Demeulemeester jacket and clarinet. Smith also walked the designer down the runway after the show. Back to the inspirations taken from this collection, my last two impressions were Blade Runner in the middle of the collection, and Patti Smith meets Jared Leto in the later half of the collection.

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The partnership of high-end designers like Yamamoto and footwear labels like Adidas, have proven to be provocative and a cash cow. This season Yamamoto has produced on his vibrant footwear collections today. From Aqua to Red and Yellow active footwear. For his ready to wear collection for Fall/Winter, Yoji and his design team jump to the other end of the color spectrum. The collection by large is in a dark pallet of black, midnight blue and dark grays.

In the opening section of the collection Yamamoto showed several black evening jackets and overcoats. The tailoring is classic Yamamoto, loose around the bodice with modern details. I loved the black wool blazer with a panel of light gray wool stripping vertically. Military stars and medals is Yamamoto’s accessory for the second section. The look is very militant but up close to fake or superficial for the Yamamoto brand. In this section the designer showed a black trench coat with collar certainly one of my favorite pieces.

For Fall the designer showed very little knitwear, only a handful of pieces made it down the runway. Those select few did make a positive statement for the collection. Like the gray sweaters with tassels trimming the collar. The must have knitwear piece is the floor length knit coat. For Fall Yamamoto and his design team focused on a new shape for men’s pants. Showing a number of wool and cotton dress slacks with a straight or baggy leg. To close out the show the designer took the tuxedo jackets and tailored the length below the waist and focused on leather and cutting embellishments. I loved the black wool overcoat with the basket weave cutouts on the breast and the lapel with horizontal sliver cuts.

The two have pieces of the collection are any of the black wool tuxedo jacket with leather cut into a chain-link, trimming the front of the jacket. The second piece is the dark navy blue suit with a red stitching similar to baseball stitching, on the front and back of the coat. For Fall/Winter Asian designers like Yamamoto as well as Kawakubo & Watanabe have broken down their modernism philosophy and explored the world of fashion a little more this season.

Although some editors have argued that such change is giving into make their lines more commercial, there is more to these collection outside of the obvious changes. Designers like Yamamoto like to challenge themselves by breaking not only social barriers, but also their own craft barriers. Bravo Monsieur Yamamoto!

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Sonia Rykiel goes soft on her classic Parisian menswear collection. Sonia and her design team focus on melting the Parisian gentleman with classic English looks and pieces. In the opening section of the collection Rykiel plasters plaid on everything from knitwear to ties and even pants and suits. She does not use just one plaid print throughout; rather I have counted over 10 so far.

The opening section offered a number of different knitwear looks for the Rykiel client. From her classic Parisian stripes in hot pink/black double-breasted cardigan to a red plaid cardigan worn over a matching sweater vest. In Milan the “it” fabric of choice was velvet, thankfully the use of velvet has been pretty absent in Paris. Rykiel did show a few velvet pieces, like the velvet dress shirt, enough said.

The overall look that Rykiel was going for was a preppy collegiate in a vibrant and dark French pallet. She used plaid practically on everything. The plaid suits were edited to add classic Rykiel colors of canary yellow, French blue and purple. I love the Windsor check tweed pants worn with a cardigan and brown velvet coat. The velvet was distressed so it gave the jacket a more relaxed look. To top of this look model had bottle green leather driving gloves. The same green leather was used on belts and shoes. The bottle green reminds me of the movie “Bright Young Things”.

Sonia Rykiel has always been a quintessential designer in the Paris. For over 30 years she’s has built a fashion house that has defined Parisian style. This season Rykiel’s exploration of molding English style with a French color pallet is a success. The must have piece of the collection are any of Rykiel’s plaid pants or plaid cardigans. Bravo Madame Rykiel!

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Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs’ collection for Fall/Winter is a simple as he could possibly get this season. The designer opted to tone down this collection and focus on a winter feel and look for the Vuitton label. The eye-catching pieces of the collection are certainly all the knitwear and outerwear. In the opening section of the show, Jacobs showed a number faux mink trimmed jackets and coats. Most of the jackets looked to decadent for the ski holiday collection. I did like the bomber jacket with a chinchilla collar.

Jacobs moved away from the use of fur and into more clean looks. Like the navy blue overcoats and p-coats with leather trim or triangles hold straps onto the jackets. The big trend coat this season is a certainly waist length collegiate coat. Jacobs showed black wool version of the collegiate coat, very classic looking but the black makes the overall look of the model more modern. I did not like the down filled bomber vests and jackets, a trend we can do without this season.

The Vuitton knitwear options are very slim. The designer only showed handful of knit pieces in this show. Varying from crew neck to turtle neck sweaters. The must have piece of the collection was the diamond design sweater in brown and white. For Fall/Winter Jacobs vision of a very dark collection is a modern look for the house Vuitton. Jacobs built of the dark pallet to create man looks for Vuitton to play with in the winter months. For Vuitton client this means the options are very slim. The must have item from this collection are the red & yellow arrow cashmere fabric covered bags and luggage.

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Designer Kris Van Assche for his Fall/Winter collection focused on giving his clients option to clean and tailored collection. For this collection Kris and his design team threw out the regular tapered leg pant. Opting this season to give his clients a full leg pant that is tapered at the knee. Giving the models more shape in the leg. This is a good thing for guys like me who have skinny knees and have a fuller calf and thigh.

With outerwear the big trend this season in Paris. Van Assche followed suit only slights. His focus was creating modern suits with clean lines. Showing a number of suits in wool and tweed. In the opening section he showed a number two tone suits with dark green jacket paired with a brown tweed pant. He also showed a number of solid color suits in black/gray/navy blue high sheen wool fabrics.

In the second section of the collection the designer showed a number of black and white pieces that didn’t fit into the overall look of the collection. Then Van Assche started to show a number of knitwear looks. From turtleneck and crew neck sweater, I liked the black and gray stripe shawl and sweaters. There was only one cardigan in the collection, a dark brown wool cardigan.

In the second half of the collection the designer seemed to loose focus of his vision of the collection. Van Assche showed cargo pants worn with dress blazers and dress shirts over sweaters. The must have piece from this collection is the gray tweed collegiate overcoat with black leather trim. Although this collection was very decadent and dark, there are a number of sellable looks, but the selection is very small.

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Junya Watanabe raided the U.S. Vietnam Surplus storage locker for her Fall/Winter collection. An obvious inspiration for the collection was Robert DeNiro in “Taxi Driver” as well as Army Veterans. Watanabe mixed classic military fabrics with rich English tweed and wools. The Watanabe showed several pants with tapered leg but the main looks focused on a fuller or straight leg pant.

Watanabe focused her energy this season on her outwear and knitwear, the two big trends of the season for menswear. Junya and her design team took classic army trench coats and jacket and reconstructed them and added new fabrics. An army green soldier’s cotton blazer was tailored with a green tweed 12-inch panel to make the jacket hip-length. Watanabe also showed a dark green tweed suit with army green contrasting pockets, as well as a gray/blue tweed version.

I was not impressed with brown stripe pants with the matching jacket and camouflage pockets. The standout outerwear piece of the collection is the green tweed jacket with orange pin stripes. The jacket was loosely tailored and the contrasting elbow patches were moved forward on the sleeve.

Watanabe showed very little knitwear this season. Most of the pieces shown were done in monotone color pallet of brown or black. The must have knitwear piece is certainly the brown fishing net weave sweater. At the close of the show Watanabe showed a number of Aviator jacket and coats with faux fur trim. The jackets had no real stand out look from what you can buy down at a surplus store here in the states.

Over Junya Watananbe’s collection for Fall/Winter is a step out of her classic modern deconstruction philosophy. She did keep to one trend this season show a large number of outerwear pieces. She didn’t bow to other trends like the use of velvet or offering a large knitwear selection. Although I like the overlook Watanabe was creating, the collection was lacking the modern look synonymous with Watanabe.

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Hasidic Jews, Rasputin’s Monks or Gothic Punks. John Galliano was all over the place with his menswear collection for Fall/Winter 2006. But in the end the entire show pulled together into one theme. While most critics and buyers were screaming Metropolis was evident muse for this collection. I beg to differ, as always, Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” was more of an inspiration in this collection.

Galliano opened the show with a number of unique black over coats with embroidery and military themes. I am not even drawing the military them from the helmets the models wore. One jacket in particular was crowning piece of the opening section, a sheer black twill overcoat with white embroidery on the bodice of the jacket. The bottom half of the overcoat was made of sheer fabric and hemmed with a thick band of black wool. You could see the models bare legs through the coat.

The collection began to shift into a World War 1 look. Galliano focused on using military blue and aviator green in his color pallet. The jackets were deconstructed and laced with decadent fabrics. For his pants, Galliano kept to the tapered leg style this season. He showed a number of denim pants with a bleach print, but they were too tight to the leg. John did show a few full leg pants this season. I loved the tweed pants with black leather panel inserts.

For Fall/Winter Galliano did not show a large number of knitwear pieces. Although what he did present were near perfect, like the silk muscle tone weave cable knit sweater. Or the full length gray knit overcoat, which looked very heavy but it seemed to just move with the model. Although Galliano did dabble with this season trend fabric of velvet, he used very little. Thank you! Galliano did start a new trend this season showing a number of t-shirts, and long sleeve cotton shirts with silk screens of a wolf print, a Toulouse Lautrec artwork print and most importantly a print of his face and logo name. Who wouldn’t love to have Galliano’s gorgeous face on their chest?

John took a great interest in working with his outerwear this season. Take note of the brown tweed jacket with wide lapel and dark brown wool bands around the jacket hem and sleeve cuffs. Also I loved the white and black wool blanket jacket and matching scarf. Galliano did show a number of accessories in the collection. Stand out pieces include the Toulouse Lautrec print bags and the fingerless knit gloves.

In the close of the show, Galliano had some fun by showing his collection backwards and made the focus on undergarments. He showed a number of cotton boxers and pajama bottoms with red/blue or green/yellow stripes. The underwear and pajamas will be a big sell for Galliano next fall.

The must have pieces from this collection include the full-length brown leather coat with pale orange shearling lining and trim. The other is the army green jacket with red silk brocade fabric lining and lapels. Overall Galliano’s crazy show is very wearable and sellable. The whole “Time Bandit” look is modern and classic. Bravo Monsieur Galliano!

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At Issey Miyake the vision for Fall is more color but the colors are too far into the 80’s for this season. Designer Naoki Takizawa opened his collection Fall/Winter with very masculine, modern tailored suits. The suits had almost a Mugler look to them, but Takizawa gave them a modern twist of adding gray/neon blue/black leather panels in the shoulder of the jacket and along the lapels and cuffs. The panels are like slivers on the suit, so they do not overpower the overall look.

In the later half of the opening section, Takizawa moved away from wool fabrics and switched to linen. I particularly like the linen fabrics that he had dyed to look like denim. Their movement was stiff but it looked relaxed. In the second section of his collection Takizawa moved into a aviator look with a 80’s twist. Showing down puff jacket and vests in bottle green and orange along with parachute pants. Color was the focus in this section; the designer abandoned the Miyake tailoring and modern forms and focused on playing on the colors. For example the fire engine red overcoat and sunshine strip sweater.

For the closing section Takizawa moved back to the tailored suit. First showing classic tailored tweed and velvet suits, trimmed with velvet or a orange/black print fabric along the hem and/or the lapels. Then he showed a number of jacquard suits and overcoats in a shocking color pallet of hot pink, teal, green, purple and pink.

There are two must haves from this collection. First the off-white cable knit sweater with a burgundy trim on the cuff and hem of the sweater. The other must have from this collection are any of the high collared Japanese style tweed overcoats. Overall there are only a handful of looks in this collection that are really standout sell items. Takizawa has lost his feel for the Miyake vision and drive for modern.

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Raf Simons returns to Paris after a successful first collection for Jil Sander down in Milan. For his namesake collection Simons focused on his personal vision and built on his darkest collection to date. Think Black should have been plastered all over the invitation. Although Simons strayed into add some white and gray here and there, the focus is all the black.

In the opening section of the collection Simons jumped right into showing off his knitwear for the season. Cashmere and Wool sweaters in all white or all gray with horizontal/vertical ribbing and geometric lines. The opening section inspiration is certainly the slopes and cocktail by the chalet fire. The odd piece in the opening section was the barbwire wrapped black leather boots, which did not fit the overall look. The Simons philosophy is certainly to focus on the minimalism and make it wearable.

The collection as whole had very little accessories or accents to the looks. Simons once again showed more skinny leg pants, not showing any full leg pants this season. The must have pant looks are the seal gray silk dress suits and the matching dress shirt.

For Fall Simons’ collection is all about the outerwear, showing many overcoats, ponchos and bomber jackets. Simons played with the whole ski jacket look showing a lot of vinyl down bomber jackets. His key outerwear pieces are the velour jackets. I love the satin velor overcoat with black wool lapels and trim. The two must have looks from this collection are any of the black satin velour overcoats. As well as the black turtleneck sweater with leather strips around the neck. My personal must have piece is the white window-ceil sweater. It’s an all white sweater with a crew neck and white bar from one shoulder to the other. Bravo Monsieur Simons!

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Amy at Seamsters and I have been going back forth about a possible Asian flux of models hitting the fashion capitals runways. Amy noticed, like I have the increase of Asian models being casted last season. The two regulars over that last two seasons are Ai Tominaga (Left) and Du Juan (Right) along with American Anne Watanabe. As much as I would love to see an Asian Wave of models, I don’t think we are there just yet.

The fashion industry is all about change and that goes for the models in the industry as well. In the last 15 years we've seen several waves of models. Starting with “The Supermodels” (Turlington, Evangelista, Auermann), then “The Waifs” (lead by Moss, Valetta & Harlow), “The English Wave” (Tennent, O'Connor, Kidd and Ellison), “The Eastern Blocks” (Klum, Herzigova & Pestova) then “The Brazilians” (Bundchen, Alves & Fontana) and today we are on the cusp of “The Little Dolls” (Gemma Ward, Lily Cole, Jessica Stam & Natalia Vodianova)

So what is next? Will it be an Asian invasion? To be honest, last season in Paris the bulk of the new faces during castings in Paris were a lot of Italian faces. Following suit with the recently platinum Maria Carla Boscono. All eyes will be on NYC on Friday to see is the change if underway or if the regulars will grace the runways.

Thanks Amy for the banter!

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Animal prints and furs seem to be a common trend this season, from Milan to Paris. Menswear designer Dries Van Noten jumped into this trend for Fall/Winter, head first. Noten offered animal prints and fur on scarves, jackets, shirts, overcoats and pants. Something about snake skin print pants does just not sit well in my stomach. I immediately got an image of some greasy guy at a club who spends the entire night hitting on women/men with really bad pickup lines. One cheetah print jacket was a repeat from the PRADA show in Milan. Can you tell the difference (photos above) in the photo's whose jacket is which?

Outside of the animal prints, the collection as a whole had a very English businessman look. Even the over sized tweed coats, which at first glance are very 20’s gangster but shown in a tweed fabric which shifts the look into an English afternoon jacket. Then Van Noten showed a great classic trench coat with a peter pan collar. The boxy trench is broken up with such a feminine collar.

Dries Van Noten has always been conventional designer who opts to add those little details, which makes him standout. This season Van Noten kept with the repetitive tapered leg pant this season but he did show only a handful of straight leg pants. His real focus this season is certainly on his outerwear and knitwear, the two big trends this season. The designer created several knitwear pieces that really stood out in the Fall collection. This includes his wrap sweater, shown in solid brown or burgundy or a diamond design with a brown waist.

Van Noten showed very little evening wear this season and almost no tuxedos. The same goes for his use of accessories, almost next to nothing. For footwear I was really loving the brown/black patent leather wingtips, but not feeling his silver lame dress shoes. The must haves this season from Dries Van Noten are any of his knitwear, especially his wrap cardigans, the blue & taupe sweater with a Nepal weave design and also the zebra stripe cardigan. My favorite is certainly camel cashmere cardigan along with his baggy trench coats.

Overall the Van Noten has put together a very classic and sell-able collection. The animal print them in the collection was a low point in the collection. Especially when Van Noten showed a black wool overcoat with tiger fur lining on the inside. This is a eerie reminder of Gucci’s show two weeks ago. When Gucci’s head menswear designer John Ray (who handed in his resignation yesterday) showed a black overcoat lined with Mink. Overall I think Van Noten pulled together a great collection, Tiger Fur Aside! Bravo Monsieur Van Noten!

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Designer Rei Kawakubo spent the holidays swinging to the stray cat strut while putting together her menswear collection Fall/Winter 2006. The obvious influences to Mod/Ska collection were Rick Ocasek (lead singer of the The Cars) and Bryan Ferry. Kawakubo opened the collection several black overcoats that were very light in the tailoring department. Which allows the wearer to move easily and keep with Mod/Ska theme of the look.

Rei and her design team abandoned the skinny tapered leg pants this season. Opting for a fuller leg, the designer focused on creating an overall shape to each look. While the collection is not a classic Comme Des Garcons collection (Modern Japanese Inspiration) the collection offers modern looks in classic pieces. Kawakubo did take her modern tailoring to extreme, as usual! Offering several tweed and wool pants that we extremely baggy in the leg.

The Garcons suit this collection is very classic and in a dark pallet of black and gray. The designer did show a number of suits with 50’s argyle print down the front of pants and matching jacket. As for accessories, Kawakubo kept it very simple and clean. Adorning the male models with belt-loop chains and either a converse shoes or platform vinyl wingtips.

There are two standout and must have pieces in this collection. First are the tasseled trim jackets and shirts, which add some femininity to your overall look (it’s a good thing), either in black or white. The second is Kawakubo’s silk-screened prints on classic strip dress shirts. A little punk but still a classic corporate look. Bravo Madam Kawakubo!

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