San Francisco Fashion week opened with a series of couture style designer shows. Colleen Quen, classically trained the craftsmanship of couture took the first bow on the opening day of the shows. Her inspiration for this season was peace and possibly summer of 69’. In the opening section of the collection Quen took on some of the big trends we saw last F/W. First being the balloon shape, commonly seen in past works of Balenciaga and St. Laurent. Quen opted to keep the balloon shape low on several gown looks or on the sleeves of a few long sleeve looks.

In the second section of the collection Quen started to incorporate more last season trends like arts and crafts (the quilted floral print gown that looked more like a kids bedspread) even scallop trim which she over used in a linen look. Two of the strongest pieces in the collection are certainly two of the showiest looks of the collection. First is the green iridescent silk organza ballerina dress with a high waist and white tulle undercoat. It’s a really short dress, but the color and shape is very dramatic. The other strong look was the red origami dress. The color combination of the bright red and chartreuse was very bold and the silk origami shapes added life to a simple strapless gown.

The must have look from the collection is the opening look; a hand-dyed red silk satin dress. The dress has a sweetheart shape balloon skirt with a v-neckline in front and back. One of the distracting factors to the collection was the mound of hair placed on the models head. While Quen and her stylist were attempting to compliment the shapes of the looks, the oversized hairdos were taking away from the clothes. While Quen was able to show some key looks in the collection. The looks in the collection were to individual, there seemed to be no design theme or style from look to look.

View the complete collection at wireimage.com

[images viaWireimage.com]