NYFW Spring 2014: Kye

Kathleen Kye the South Korean designer behind the label Kye made her debut last season at Concept Korea, a platform that supports young designers of Korean descent.

This season Kye stuck out on her own and presented a collection inspired by pained youth. Featuring bandaids emblazoned in gold and other shiny colors throughout the collection. There was a definite streetwear bent but also a small dose of sophistication that was reminiscent of Margiela, including the sleeves that tie into a skirt and the slightly bondage-esque buckles. Baseball caps shown with all of the looks gave the collection a casual urban feel. Thigh high slits and cropped tops with exposed midriffs were prominent in the collection but manage to come across as surprisingly appropriate. I would be interested to see what happens with this young designer as she grows.

NYFW Fall 2013: Louise Amstrupp

There are a couple of presentations that I stopped by that I never had a chance to get to so here is one more review for you. Louise Amstrup  is the London based designer who made her London Fashion Week debut back in 2009. Now to signify a new era Louise Amstrup presented in New York for the very first time at Milk Studios.

The collection was inspired by the 2004 documentary, Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, that portrayed a ghost town in the Californian desert. The town was once lauded to become the new Palm Springs before ever increasing salt levels gave the area an odor of decaying fish.

Salt crystals, underwater sea creatures and coral became the inspirational elements that Amstrup drew upon.  The level of detail took a couture approach. The organza skirt shown above consisted of hundreds of hand-dyed organza flowers and took 850 hours to create.

NYFW Fall 2013: Steven Alan

If I had to describe the Steven Alan Fall 2013 collection in a sentence it would be, "Wearable comfortable basics done right with just a hint of quirk". This is a collection that I could see a thousand New Yorkers wearing on my daily commute.

When it comes to the womenswear component there was a still small voice that took basics and styled them in a every signature Steven Alan kind of way. A shirtdress is layered over slim trousers with a turtleneck on top. A leather skirt is layered over a striped shirtdress with the shirttail peeking out at the bottom. A baggy shirt is only half tucked in to trousers with an elastic hem and topped with a jaunty scarf.

NYFW Fall 2013: Mathieu Mirano

The Mathieu Mirano presentation was held yesterday morning at The Box and even considering it was bright and early on a Monday the room was packed with fashionistas vying to get a peek at what this bright young designer had to show us this season.

Unlike last Fall, the collection seemed to be a toned down a notch. Sophisticated but a bit more restrained. Luxurious but quieter about it. The designer told Style.com that, “The collection is all about classic silhouettes executed in a new way.”

The color palatte was simple with a focus on blush nude and black with hits of black or gold shimmer in the fabric and gold toe shoes.

The strong message with this collection was geometry with very linear style lines and a bold grid pattern was prominent. Sometimes the grid was woven into the fabric while other times it was created through beading. Seaming details, strategic color blocking and piping in a rectangular formation only strengthened the statement for geometric shapes throughout the collection. Only one knit dress had  a slightly more organic feel as if there was a vein of gold running throughout the entire silhouette.

NYFW Fall 2013: Bellavance

Milk Studios was a buzz the other week as the most crowded of all presentations caught my attention. What was the buzz about? Why were people milling into such a small, hot room? Turns out that Bellavance who were winners of the MADE For Peroni Young Designer Awards, Ava Hama and Nolan Bellavance were showing their inaugural collection at Milk Studios. The award, which was open exclusively to select Parsons SoF graduates and alumni, meant $25,000 in funding, as well as production support and personal mentoring from London-based designer Antonio Beradi in the lead up to the presentation.

NYFW Fall 2013: CALLA

Call me a bit of an 90s nerd but whenever a collection is inspired by Tetris or other video games it fascinates me. Calla Haynes the Canadian Paris-based designer behind CALLA was inspired by Tetris, Legend of Zelda and director Michel Gondry's The Science of sleep. The unique prints that resembled blurry pixel florals, while another has a cosmic blustery petal feel and let's not forget the Tetris tweed used. The designer partnered up with Austrian knitwear designer Michaela Buerger to create chunky hand-knit wool sweaters.  Fortunately the collection did not look anything like a 90s nerd.

NYFW Fall 2013: Marissa Webb

After bracing through Nemo in the early hours of the morning - I made my way to Lincoln Center to catch the Marissa Webb presentation.  This is her second showing at NYFW since parting ways with J. Crew - and she definitely holds her own.  Webb's hard versus soft and masculine versus feminine concepts are showcased throughout the collection along with the juxtaposition of rich textures and fabrications.  

NYFW Presentation: Korto Momolu Fall 2012

In the midst of NYFW I had a chance to see Korto Momolu's presentation at the Bryant Park Hotel's Cellar Bar.  Upon my arrival, the venue was jumping with a scene as guests grabbed drinks and enjoyed lounging as music played.  I had to maneuver my way around the crowds to see the clothes that were on models perched on pedestals throughout the room.  The collection entitled Monaco was inspired by jet set glamorous icons like Bridget Bardot and Grace Kelly.

NYFW Presentation: Norisol Ferrari Fall 2012

The Norisol Ferrari presentation was one that took me back in time in what the designer describes as Jean Harlow meets Tina Turner in Mad Max.  There were dramatic silhouettes that made me think a little bit of Charles Worth-esque (late 1900s) glamor while other items that made me think of something a very put together Goth might enjoy.

NYFW Presentation: Mathieu Mirano Fall 2012

When I entered The Box at Lincoln Center I knew very little to nothing about the 20 year old designer behind the namesake collection Mathieu Mirano but I was pleasantly surprised.  My efforts leaving Brooklyn twice in one day had been rewarded by a skillfully tailored collection that was inspired by a dream about dragons and the women that conquered them.

NYFW Presentation: Lorena Sarbu Fall 2012

Waking up on a Sunday morning is always a challenge and hauling myself to Lincoln Center for 10:30am from Brooklyn took a bit of convincing but once I arrived I was pleasantly surprised by Lorena Sarbu's collection of glamorous special occasion frocks that would look perfectly at ease on any Hollywood red carpet.

NYFW Presentation: Katya Leonovich Fall 2012

Katya Leonovich the designer who last season masterfully brought control out of chaos and who has a fascination with beautiful garbage this time presented a collection called "An Architectural Aesthetic" at the Box in the Lincoln Center.

Overhead paintings that the designer herself had painted of New York City buildings served as the inspiration for the collection and the prints.

The paintings themselves served up as the colorful basis for prints.  The prints were in sharp contrast to the rippled metallics that remind me of building surfaces, the structural boned leathers that look like the ribs of a building and the sharp graphic use of black and white/python.  Sometime self tubes of fabric were used to create a protective cage around the body but no matter how sharp those style lines of the corsets appear there is always still an element of soft femininity.  It's a s simple as fabric flowing over the hips in a soft slightly rounded manner to a peplum shape and organic draped chiffon creating almost petals around the body.

NYFW Spring 2012: Katya Leonovich

So after a slight misjudgment in when I would actually be able to wake up after a fun night at the VuQo vodka launch I literally woke up the morning of the Katya Leonovich without a moment to spare.  I woke up at 10:15am, the presentation was from 10:30-11:30am and after throwing on some clothes I was fighting against the clock and the MTA to make it from Brooklyn to the Lincoln Center.  And despite some initial set backs, somehow I made it with 15 minutes to spare.

I tore up a path to The Box and relief sank in. The first thing I noticed was the interesting sport inspired color palette. The prints were as vibrant and lively as the back drop of illustrated American football players. Something about it brought to mind motion. Yellow, red, cobalt blue, white and turquoise seem to swirl together in chiffon to create softly voluminous puffs of dresses. Contrasting this was clean white leather that was sharply tailored and featuring both crisp cut-out details and self slashed fringe.

Denim was carefully dyed, slashed and patched together creating optical effects that resembled some sort of armored shell. Organza was pleated to create architectural effects that reminded me of the exoskeleton of an insect.

Hair was styled in a deliberately messy sculptural shape. Make up was simple with barely stained red lips, dewy shadows on lids. The overall effect was confidence, a cartoonish/animated quality and a look that said, "Just try to mess with me". 

While in the wrong hands the results could have been utter chaos – Katya Leonovich somehow brought the chaos under the control of her watchful eye.  It’s an aesthetic that despite not coinciding with my personal taste, I can appreciate.