NYFW Fall 2014: Georgine - Backstage, Interview and Show

On a snowy Sunday evening, it is designer Georgine Ratelband's New York Fashion Week debut. Touted as a designer to watch, she has the advantage of having a truly international background. Although a fairly recent graduate of the Istituto Europeo di Design in Milan (2011). Her senior thesis collection was immediately purchased by Antwerp's SIEN boutique.

I had a chance to go backstage before the show and have a peek at some of the Macbeth inspired collection and meet with the designer for an interview. The designer is slim, blonde and tall, she could almost be mistaken for one of the models backstage. Her hair swept back in a sleek ponytail and wearing clothing that exudes casual elegance. She speaks with a quiet confidence that surprises me for an emerging designer.

SRC: How has growing up in the Netherlands affected your design aesthetic?
Georgine: I think Dutch culture is incredible, I love my country, it is very beautiful. I think Dutch people, they are very innovative. Great style overall. I mean, I've lived all over the world and travelled a lot, so I take bits and pieces from everywhere.

SRC: Who would you say has had the biggest impact on your designs?
Georgine: My clients, the women I dress, they act as huge inspiration to me. I mean, when they try on the clothing, when they put it together, to see how they style it, the color combinations they come up with.

NYFW Fall 2014: Marissa Webb

I kicked off my fashion week this year at the Marissa Webb show. The designer has been on the radar as one to watch for a number of seasons. This season the designer really found her sweet spot in sexy tomboy-ish clothing that is perfect for day-to-day life - never too sweet, with just the right amount of attitude to turn heads. The city girl who always seems to look pulled together even when she has just woken up and is on-the-go.

The beauty exemplified attitude the with messy rolled just-out-of-bed hair or wispy high buns contrasted with classic cat eyes, soft pink lips and radiant skin in full force.

The color palette was broken up into groupings monochromatic to start, introduction of navy and oxford blue, followed by smoldering purple, dusty pinks and finishing off with bold red. While black, grey and white dominated the color groupings made for a powerful impression. Plaid, tweed, leather, fur and abstract watercolor florals that added texture and dimension to the looks.

Runway Review: Jonathan Simkhai

Jonathan Simkhai has been on my radar  ever since I first laid eyes on his collection at Milk Studios a couple seasons back. For Fall 2014, the designer was inspired by "old school" leather cigar boxes seen through a futuristic lens. The designer has a way of making the ordinary interesting.

Classic American menswear details and fabrics are combined with clean geometric lines to create a modern day warrior woman. She is ready for anything and most importantly dead sexy. There is something tribal about the results, a woman in need of nothing from anybody.

 

Luxurious fabrics like embossed croc leather, pinstripe suiting and Italian wools are combined together. Tobacco colored leather pairs with charcoal pinstripe, black and white and creates warmth against the modern lines. In addition to embossed croc leather, embossed ombre croc that looks futuristic.

NYFW Fall 2014: Costello Tagliapietra

My favorite fashion bears continue to expand their offerings this season beyond the beautifully draped dresses for which they are best known. Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra sent pencil skirts, trousers, fitted blazers, a borrowed-from-the-boys cardigan and even a jacquard coat onto the runway.

Don't fret if you are a fan of their luxe easy-to-wear dresss, those are still available. This season they have been a bit simplified for a cleaner approach. They've also lent their signature light touch with draping to beautiful blouses that are perfect for wearing to work or to dinner.

Masters of quirky color combinations you will find a soft mauve jersey with an acrid yellow iridescent taffeta, a rich red with a earth brown, oxblood with navy blue and sea green with navy, charcoal and mauve. The prints this season have an organic earth quality like lichen growing on a rock. Or semi-precious stones in the rough.

NYFW Fall 2014: Richard Chai Love

Richard Chai consistently cranks out collections of clothing that is both beautiful and wearable. His most recent runway show for Richard Chai Love gave a slight 90s grunge vibe, in the best way possible.

 

Rich colors like merlot and tobacco were softened by slate blue, camel, mousey taupe and hazy lavender. Texture was an important element with brushed fabrics contrasted by opulent floral jacquards and textured lace over sleek leather. Plaids, stripes and color blocked panels add interest. In the final few looks the subtle colors used in the patterns burst forward in a crystalline fractal print that is like modern stained glass.

Softly rounded and sloped shoulders for both men and women, a dropped waist silhouette and easy shapes that are comfortable looking but with just enough tailored polish to look pulled together without trying. Layering is important as seen with the sheer crinkle knit shown under dresses and tops. For men, layering comes in the form of a shirt shown tied at the waist over pants, creating almost a skirt for men.

Hair looks tousled like you just rolled out of bed, with the men throwing on a beanie to do some errands. The look is effortless dressing that I would love to have in my closet.

   

NYFW Spring 2014: Proenza Schouler

The designers behind Proenza Schouler never fail to win us over season after season with their sharp eye, graphic prints and well tailored pieces with an oft architectural hand.

Inspired by American mid-century modern furniture  design, you can see influences in the way they handle fabric and in turn the way the clothes hang on the body. Wide legged culottes, broomstick pleated skirts with bronze or gold foil swish around the legs. Carefully constructed pleat peplums pair with fitted cropped tops. Shoulders are soft and rounded while hemlines of both skirt and pant fall between the knee and ankle. Throughout the collection a feminine waist emphasis is consistent.

Wallpaper-like print, a jacket that resembles a shag rug, square metal hardware that borrows from furniture are where the inspiration is most obvious. Although it continues with subtler ways as well including how fabrics are printed almost to the edge like wall paper. The color palette was simple with black and  cream dominating the show with the addition of the colors wine red and goldenrod. There was also a heavy metallic presence with silver, gold and bronze accents and fabrics abounding.

This collection is softer than it's predecessors. The fresh change that an interest in draping brought about is both serene and absolutely winning.

NYFW Spring 2014: Brandon Sun

I previously had pronounced Brandon Sun as a designer to watch and after my declaration, I was eager to see how this young designer would develop in his subsequent collections. His most recent collection was inspired by female warriors of the Samurai class in feudal Japan. The presentation took place at the Box in Lincoln Center.

You can see the influence in the shapes of blouses, streamlined silhouettes, the use of colorblocking and details like careful tucks in leather that look like they might hold artillery. Skirts with high slits up the front and asymmetrical wrap styling make the women look ready to pounce. The line seems to be of utmost importance and geometric shapes lend an architectural feeling that flatters the female body.

Plays with sheerness of fabric, iridescence and texture through leather and patch work fur offer a wide range of choices to the Sun woman. Against the base of black, white and shades of grey, mint/jade and peach/orange combinations popped and looked fresh.

My favorite looks are almost minimalist in nature. I love the white sheath with asymmetric details on the back, the  leather dress. The black & white sweater with leather bottoms is also quite striking. The future is bright for Sun as he continues to grow as a designer.

NYFW Spring 2014: Calla

Calla Haynes first caught my attention last season with her Tetris inspired 90s-esque collection. This season the young designer who was a finalist for France's prestigious ANDAM prize for 3 years continues her 90s love with a surf inspired collection. The designer's love for the decade could in part be stemmed from the fact that it was about the time in her life when fashion first held it's influence.

Fortunately the designer did not hold us hostage in the past and lent her youthful aesthetic to creating fresh fashion for the modern age. Sure there were crop tops, bat wing sweaters, bralets and matching skirt suits (Hello, Clueless) but the proportions have been modified to become a lot more flattering through full skirts, loose trousers and figure skimming sheaths

For most part just a peek of skin shows at a time making the cropped tops a lot more wearable. Items skim the body without being too oversized or too mini. 

  

Mixing prints seems second nature to Ms. Haynes and neon or bright pops were balanced with neutrals like black and white or white and warm grey.

The overall effect is that the Calla woman is feminine, cute but not at all saccharine or dainty.