Lela Rose Spring/Summer 2011: Romance in Peru & a Whole Lot of Subtleties
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
Peru was the prominent symbol of Lela Rose’s latest collection, according to the designer. The Peruvians’ handwork details, the culture’s artisanship and the palette of the rich cuisine
were not necessarily highlighted as much as sprinkled through an accessory here and a shoe there. There was a lot of tulle embroidery and laundered taffetas, but it wasn’t a resounding
Peruvian spirit that glazed over every piece – the influence was as subtle as it could possibly be.
were not necessarily highlighted as much as sprinkled through an accessory here and a shoe there. There was a lot of tulle embroidery and laundered taffetas, but it wasn’t a resounding
Peruvian spirit that glazed over every piece – the influence was as subtle as it could possibly be.
Photo Credit: Fernando Colon
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Another subtle, but keen Peruvian imprint was the fabulous hair by hair genius Ted Gibson, who gave the Lela Rose models a free-
spirited, side pony-tail – a femmy equestrian touch that,similar to the dos at Miu Miu’s last spring outing, gave an air of youthful
freshness, an untamed spirit. “With Peru in mind, I thought about how this Lela Rose girl rides horse-back and she decides she’s
going to put her hair back into a ponytail,” said Ted Gibson backstage, moments before the run of show. “The hair already has great
texture because she’s been riding. In order to create that texture I used Ted Gibson Fix It, $19.95, beauty.com, styling gel and our
Tame It Shine Lotion, $19.19, beauty.com. I applied it in the hair and blew it dry. We created a kind of romance in the hair with some
roughened up braiding. A very romantic equestrian look.”
What really brought that Peru touch were the accessories – coral and cobalt embroidered necklines, aquamarine and jade
necklaces, wedge soles, Incan chevron belts. When it translated to the clothes, it resounded more thoroughly in the sportier attire,
like in a color blocked cardigan with a ceviche yam-orange skirt worn by Aminata Niaria and a pisco sour-yellow cocktail dress. The
touches were well done, but overall the show became a cavalcade of subtleties, which isn’t the greatest thing when what you want
to do most is to stand out and be remembered against the best of the best.
spirited, side pony-tail – a femmy equestrian touch that,similar to the dos at Miu Miu’s last spring outing, gave an air of youthful
freshness, an untamed spirit. “With Peru in mind, I thought about how this Lela Rose girl rides horse-back and she decides she’s
going to put her hair back into a ponytail,” said Ted Gibson backstage, moments before the run of show. “The hair already has great
texture because she’s been riding. In order to create that texture I used Ted Gibson Fix It, $19.95, beauty.com, styling gel and our
Tame It Shine Lotion, $19.19, beauty.com. I applied it in the hair and blew it dry. We created a kind of romance in the hair with some
roughened up braiding. A very romantic equestrian look.”
What really brought that Peru touch were the accessories – coral and cobalt embroidered necklines, aquamarine and jade
necklaces, wedge soles, Incan chevron belts. When it translated to the clothes, it resounded more thoroughly in the sportier attire,
like in a color blocked cardigan with a ceviche yam-orange skirt worn by Aminata Niaria and a pisco sour-yellow cocktail dress. The
touches were well done, but overall the show became a cavalcade of subtleties, which isn’t the greatest thing when what you want
to do most is to stand out and be remembered against the best of the best.
Rebecca Taylor Redefines Design Simplicity for Spring 2011
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
The deeper we get into fashion week, the more that certain trends start to reveal themselves. At Rebecca Taylor, a master of easy femininity, two trends for Spring 2011 made themselves
clear: Cadmium is the color of the season – no question about it, and second, the easy posieness of the Me Decade by way of right now is ready for a revival.
Rebecca Taylor never falters in showing that there is design in simplicity. Pieces like a see-through steel grey pin-dot chiffon t-shirt, adorned with two breast pockets and a dusty rose
marled cotton surplus crew with rose tinted epaulet squares worked a seamless ease down the runway. It’s the look of the fashionable East Village girl on her way to get a quick bagel
down the street. But trust she’s the fiercest bagel-eating go-with-the-flow girl in a four block radius.
Lots of fun gemming, like in a caramel mirrored silk midi skirt and a barely pink nouveau tulip blouse, as well as some smart and subtle zipper-work, as seen on a beautiful denim leather
pant (gold on gold diagonal zippers on the side pockets and vertical chunky gold zips at the chins).
The cadmium was reserved for the slightly more overwrought ensembles (although overwrought just by Rebecca Taylor standards). A cadmium canvas trench with python trim and the
penultimate number, a python print canvas trench with denim trim brought the unanimous ooooos and aaaahs from everyone in sight.
clear: Cadmium is the color of the season – no question about it, and second, the easy posieness of the Me Decade by way of right now is ready for a revival.
Rebecca Taylor never falters in showing that there is design in simplicity. Pieces like a see-through steel grey pin-dot chiffon t-shirt, adorned with two breast pockets and a dusty rose
marled cotton surplus crew with rose tinted epaulet squares worked a seamless ease down the runway. It’s the look of the fashionable East Village girl on her way to get a quick bagel
down the street. But trust she’s the fiercest bagel-eating go-with-the-flow girl in a four block radius.
Lots of fun gemming, like in a caramel mirrored silk midi skirt and a barely pink nouveau tulip blouse, as well as some smart and subtle zipper-work, as seen on a beautiful denim leather
pant (gold on gold diagonal zippers on the side pockets and vertical chunky gold zips at the chins).
The cadmium was reserved for the slightly more overwrought ensembles (although overwrought just by Rebecca Taylor standards). A cadmium canvas trench with python trim and the
penultimate number, a python print canvas trench with denim trim brought the unanimous ooooos and aaaahs from everyone in sight.
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Max Azria Once Again Ditches the Flair for Grace This Spring 2011
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
“This collection is extremely cool and it’s extremely chic,” said Max Azria backstage, moments before the run of his second of three shows at MBFW. “You will see it’s very easy to wear and
it’s a lot about attitude. Simple, yet complicated, but always easy wearability.”
There wasn’t anything really complicated about it, apart from the few geometric shapes that adorned the necklines of white, beige, black and mint georgette slip dresses, one-piece
swimsuits and bikinis.
Minimalist wearability appears to be the new resounding tenet of Max and Lubov Azria, as their earlier BCBGMAXAZRIA collection can also attest to, and although the pieces worked in their
own beautiful way, one couldn’t help but feel a major sense of déjà vu as the show progressed. The 34 sporty and elegant silhouettes that came down were all too similar, not just to
themselves, but to the BCBG collection as well.
With only their Herve Leger collection left to present, we shall see if their iconic bandage dress, which is anything but soft and easy, will also be infused with the duo’s newly acquired sense
of ultra-grace. We hope they saved the flair and sex appeal for last.
it’s a lot about attitude. Simple, yet complicated, but always easy wearability.”
There wasn’t anything really complicated about it, apart from the few geometric shapes that adorned the necklines of white, beige, black and mint georgette slip dresses, one-piece
swimsuits and bikinis.
Minimalist wearability appears to be the new resounding tenet of Max and Lubov Azria, as their earlier BCBGMAXAZRIA collection can also attest to, and although the pieces worked in their
own beautiful way, one couldn’t help but feel a major sense of déjà vu as the show progressed. The 34 sporty and elegant silhouettes that came down were all too similar, not just to
themselves, but to the BCBG collection as well.
With only their Herve Leger collection left to present, we shall see if their iconic bandage dress, which is anything but soft and easy, will also be infused with the duo’s newly acquired sense
of ultra-grace. We hope they saved the flair and sex appeal for last.
Carmen Marc Valvo Looks to The 60s & Channels The Elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
The award for coolest interactive experience goes to Carmen Marc Valvo, who had his show at the NASDAQ building. The runway show aired live on a massive screen right smack in the
middle of Times Square, and if you happened to have a good spot on the makeshift runway (which we most certainly did) you could catch a glimpse of yourself on the big screen watching
the models pass right by your feet. It was a double sensory experience. Plus, who doesn’t want to be on a screen in Times Square, right? The show opened with a beautiful ivory silk
organza camisole paired with a cobalt micro-pleated silk ribbon skirt. We loved the micro-pleating as seen in another piece, a silver silk ribbon gown, that was the craftiest and most
sartorially spot-on embellishment in the entire collection.
Backstage, we spoke to our dear friend, hair legend Ted Gibson about the overall look Valvo wanted to convey: “We’re creating an effortless way of putting your hair up. It’s not too contrived
and it’s easy to do. We want to make something that was special in a snap," says Gibson. "The collection is 60s inspired so we went with a Chinese chinois, which are usually big. They
make you think of something coiffed and polished. The position of the bun creates the sensibility. The higher it is the more youthful it is. It brings out the eyes and it brings the youth to the
seriousness of the pieces.”
middle of Times Square, and if you happened to have a good spot on the makeshift runway (which we most certainly did) you could catch a glimpse of yourself on the big screen watching
the models pass right by your feet. It was a double sensory experience. Plus, who doesn’t want to be on a screen in Times Square, right? The show opened with a beautiful ivory silk
organza camisole paired with a cobalt micro-pleated silk ribbon skirt. We loved the micro-pleating as seen in another piece, a silver silk ribbon gown, that was the craftiest and most
sartorially spot-on embellishment in the entire collection.
Backstage, we spoke to our dear friend, hair legend Ted Gibson about the overall look Valvo wanted to convey: “We’re creating an effortless way of putting your hair up. It’s not too contrived
and it’s easy to do. We want to make something that was special in a snap," says Gibson. "The collection is 60s inspired so we went with a Chinese chinois, which are usually big. They
make you think of something coiffed and polished. The position of the bun creates the sensibility. The higher it is the more youthful it is. It brings out the eyes and it brings the youth to the
seriousness of the pieces.”
Vassilios Kostetsos Takes a Mythological Trip to Aella for S/S 2011
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
There’s was a lot to love at the Vassilios Kostetsos Spring 2011 show that was inspired by Aella, a word meaning Amazon in Greek mythology. This collection is one of the few examples
this season where prints really take center stage. The conceits if not all Kostetsos’ own, feel like his own – which says a lot in a season chock-full of collections that blur together, the real
details lost as soon as the show is over.
Kostetsos’ arsenal is vast, employing separates, printed men’s swim suits, asymmetrical collars, Grecian dresses, embellished shoulder pads, emblazoned hot-pants, cocktail dresses,
printed t-shirts, one-shoulder bikinis – the list goes on and on, and yet ensemble after ensemble, it all feels cut from the same cloth - in a good way. Seeing what came next and finding out
that it was even better than what came before it, was constantly exhilarating.
The prints: A young Grecian woman leering into a hand mirror and a print that looks lifted right out of a vase, of some historic artifact found at the bottom of the sea, of a Grecian army
charging, lined on the top and bottom by a geometric border, each found its own suitability in almost every piece. It was an extensive showing and it never felt repetitive – impressive, when
almost every ensemble was styled with at least one of the only two prints in the entire collection.
The menswear as a whole was a much more casual showing, but one ensemble – a blue, gray and white plaid button-up paired with a champagne satin pant with a snakeskin belt and a
gloss tan ascot was an Aegean resort dream. The ladies could just as easily prepare for a drink at a Santorini bar after a day of tanning in a heather gray light coat over a heather high-
waisted short with black petal embellishments. Styled with no top and buttoned right where it matters, it would be the perfect haute resort outfit for a girl in Greece – where showing a little
skin is just a part of life.
this season where prints really take center stage. The conceits if not all Kostetsos’ own, feel like his own – which says a lot in a season chock-full of collections that blur together, the real
details lost as soon as the show is over.
Kostetsos’ arsenal is vast, employing separates, printed men’s swim suits, asymmetrical collars, Grecian dresses, embellished shoulder pads, emblazoned hot-pants, cocktail dresses,
printed t-shirts, one-shoulder bikinis – the list goes on and on, and yet ensemble after ensemble, it all feels cut from the same cloth - in a good way. Seeing what came next and finding out
that it was even better than what came before it, was constantly exhilarating.
The prints: A young Grecian woman leering into a hand mirror and a print that looks lifted right out of a vase, of some historic artifact found at the bottom of the sea, of a Grecian army
charging, lined on the top and bottom by a geometric border, each found its own suitability in almost every piece. It was an extensive showing and it never felt repetitive – impressive, when
almost every ensemble was styled with at least one of the only two prints in the entire collection.
The menswear as a whole was a much more casual showing, but one ensemble – a blue, gray and white plaid button-up paired with a champagne satin pant with a snakeskin belt and a
gloss tan ascot was an Aegean resort dream. The ladies could just as easily prepare for a drink at a Santorini bar after a day of tanning in a heather gray light coat over a heather high-
waisted short with black petal embellishments. Styled with no top and buttoned right where it matters, it would be the perfect haute resort outfit for a girl in Greece – where showing a little
skin is just a part of life.
Malandrino’s Handcraft Laden S/S 2011 Collection Shows the Dark Side of Romanticism
POSTED September 12, 2010
FASHION WEEK
Alexander Patino
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week easy simplicity spell was finally broken by Madame Malandrino’s presentation at the Lincoln Center Promenade. Both the looks and the setting were
anything but easy and simple, considering that it had been pouring rain just moments before and after her shivering models posed on their assigned cylindrical pedestals.
As with most of the designers showing this week, Malandrino not just hopped along on the handmade-finishings bus, she took command and steered the wheel. Macramed bolero jackets,
leather weaved knit tops, roped leather bracelets, hand-crocheted dresses and weaved sandals bombastically, but thankfully surged Malandrino’s collection, whose esoteric inspiration
comes from a unique vase she purchased earlier this year in the south of France from creative ceramist Roger Capron.
The best look was the most overwrought (that’s how we like our Malandrino), a noir macramé cropped chiffon top paired with a jaw-droppingly sexy crocheted one-piece bathing suit and
what has to be the best exploration of the gladiator sandal since Balenciaga’s Spring 2008 gladiator boot.
As is always the case with Catherine Malandrino, the collection was romantic, but her ethereal crenalines were nowhere to be found – this was a darker, more powerful romantic essence
being explored. Seeing the crafty goth side of Malandrino was both unexpected and assuredly thrilling.
anything but easy and simple, considering that it had been pouring rain just moments before and after her shivering models posed on their assigned cylindrical pedestals.
As with most of the designers showing this week, Malandrino not just hopped along on the handmade-finishings bus, she took command and steered the wheel. Macramed bolero jackets,
leather weaved knit tops, roped leather bracelets, hand-crocheted dresses and weaved sandals bombastically, but thankfully surged Malandrino’s collection, whose esoteric inspiration
comes from a unique vase she purchased earlier this year in the south of France from creative ceramist Roger Capron.
The best look was the most overwrought (that’s how we like our Malandrino), a noir macramé cropped chiffon top paired with a jaw-droppingly sexy crocheted one-piece bathing suit and
what has to be the best exploration of the gladiator sandal since Balenciaga’s Spring 2008 gladiator boot.
As is always the case with Catherine Malandrino, the collection was romantic, but her ethereal crenalines were nowhere to be found – this was a darker, more powerful romantic essence
being explored. Seeing the crafty goth side of Malandrino was both unexpected and assuredly thrilling.
