First View New York Womenswear SS2013: Patchwork

Patchwork Part 1

A patchwork parade of energetic pieces and brave design experiments. Collage couture with an edgy urban cool factor in acid and surfer brights with jet black and silver grey.  Eye-popping textures are alternated with slick sheen and metallic shimmer, fluidity with chunky, sculptural textiles.

Proenza Schouler shows experimental mixes of plains with perforated, bonded, laser cut and crocheted surfaces. Mixed with diagonally stitched strips of digital print. Diane von Furstenberg is faithful to her hippy deluxe, flirty fashion. Kaftans, wrap skirts, jodhpurs are all worn in layers. Rodarte shows collages of guipure, jacquard, jewellery and panels of printed silk.

In this print parade and mix mesh of textures there is a common vibe, which binds together a large variety of designers. But underneath this collage of design experiments we recognize the roots well planted by Balenciaga, exploring the interaction between technology and craft.

Patchwork Part 2

Cool is THE word reviewing NY fashion week. Street-y cool, retro cool, ragtag cool, hippie cool are all synonyms used by Style.com for the Peter Som collection. Yet these cover a whole generation of designs, showing oh-so-sweet looks with bohemian flavor. Icons of romance and nostalgia; puffed sleeves, frills, flounces and gatherings, receive an infusion of cool through mad mixing, digital printing, weird cutting and pasting and piling contrasting layers in different proportions.

A print parade of classics as well as digital re-editions.

Marc by Marc Jacobs shows a mix mesh of patterns all brought together with fun, flair and bravery. Phillip Lim makes street-wise collages of patterns and plains. Peter Som adds a cool twist to traditional retro where Rebecca Minkoff mixes young and sexy with bon-vivant, grandma-chic.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam