Round Up New York Womenswear FW2012

This was an interesting week in New York. This season seemed one big exercise. Testing shapes, volumes and proportions. Trying textures, various embellishments, prints and crafts from different origins and inspirations. Probing periods, from 20s, 30s, 70s to 80s. And the fun factor is that it is hard to guess what comes from whom. It seems ideas are exchanged, copied, re-edited and re-interpreted. Identities mixed, profiles and signatures blurred. Scatter collection snapshots and guess its origins. It will be a wild guess this time!

We spot a feel for the extreme and ECCENTRIC, iconic and humorous as Marc Jacobs showed it, reflecting on grand fashion divas. Altazurra and Libertine are two among others staging artful embellishment and intricate crafts.

 

Ports 1961 hit on a SCULTPURAL trend, showing a peplum silhouette, one of the favorites this season. But there is more; masterfully executed by the grand master of simplicity Calvin Klein but also Philip Lim, Peter Som and Alexander Wang showed bold rounded silhouettes.

 

OVERSIZED is an understatement when talking about the Proenza Schouler collection. Also both Donna Karan and Y3 super sized items within their range. Y3 is one of the few collections faithful to sportswear as we were so used to in The Big Apple.

 

NY was DRESSED UP this season, Donna Karan hat topped ladies dressed reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich. Victoria Beckham shows shapely contouring shifts and Diane von Furstenberg sensual draping.

 

Friendly and relaxed were the global travellers; modern NOMADS in multi cultural referenced cuddly warps and layers. Rag & Bone, showed city nomads, Y3 global hybrids and Proenza Schouler went east.

This fashion mash-up makes us curious about what comes next!

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

First View New York FW2012: Sculptural

Here we sure have a silhouet statement for the season. Sculptural minimalism in dense wool. Luxurious layers of wool, double face or bonded materials, cut, folded and wrapped. New volumes curved and cut away from the body. Rounded shoulders, peplum jackets with wrap, pleat or belted waists.

A novel boldness that shows precision in tailoring, luxurious fabrics and a love for architectonic constructions.  Peter Som shows felt type wrap coats with linebacker shoulders, Thom Browne gloomy, monolithic sculptures with some intricate tailored details, Narcissi Rodriguez goes crisp and neat avoiding unnecessary details and concentrating on the perfect cut, where Ports 1961, shows a strong bold silhouette in interesting textured materials.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

First View New York FW2012: Oversized

Contours are moving away from the body. Silhouettes rely heavily on the look of seventies American Sportswear. Belted trenches, wide-legged jersey trousers and midi-length dresses. Wide shouldered blouses and bold masculine dress coats with long lapels. Technical parkas and super size rounded sweaters. We recognize David Bowie reflections in broad padded shoulders and zipper closures in almost any garment. Pants are huge and chimney legged and skirts are full, flared, pleated or slitted.

Proenza Schouler translates this look into iconic statements: boyfriends’ jackets in massive volumes, which make the women inside ever so tiny, skinny and lovely. Donna Karan alternates her dressed-up Marlène looks with wide sports coats, Marc by Marc Jacobs shows flared full skirts where Philip Lim translates masculine parameters into sensual feminine sportswear.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

 

Calvin Klein Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW 2012

The idea of real strength was the central theme for Francisco Costa and his  fall collection for Calvin Klein. The designer was inspired by Bauhaus and the Bauhaus woman of the 1920s.  The result was  subtle with clothes in ultra-feminine silhouettes starting with a black wool mohair A-line coat cinched at the waist with a wide silver belt. Another example came with the cropped burnt-orange cashmere sweater worn over a matching shift dress.

Costa used thick wools for coats, but also for some dresses, which looked a bit heavy. Better were the black dresses mixed with leather, sometimes it was just an insert, another time is was the back, or a skirt.  The overall effect was powerful, but the clothes also had a softer side: ladylike and charming, even with a Fifties couture touch.

Ralph Lauren Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

Who could work out a theme like the popular tv-show Downtown Abbey better than Ralph Lauren? The man who secretly seemt to be an Englishman living the countrylife.

The show opened with casually elegant men’s wear looks all in mixes of tweeds, plaids and checks. In a season where fabric-mixes play an important role his combinations felt natural. The styling was very Downtown Abbey, but the pieces were versatile. A leather motorcycle jacket felt as right in the mix as a spencer. Coats came in various forms,  from herringbones and plaids to ocelot-printed shearling.

The rest of the show was all about the timeless elegance of black and gold.

First View New York FW2012: Nomads

A walk on the wild side shows us a myriad of decorative textures, contrasting layers, lovely decorations and a free flow of cultural heritage.

In the Year of the Dragon, global travellers pick up the local and turn it into a lovely metropolitan mash-up. A nomadic lifestyle is reflected in a rich layering of elaborate items. Most headed East for inspiration that reflects in a warm lava and volcanic colour palette combined with gold and copper. Cosy wraps and roomy, up scaled jackets show an interesting combination of urban glam and relaxed in some cases even cuddly comfort.

Rag & Bone masterfully mixes the 70s flavoured bohemian spirit with cool urban design, Edun confirms its favour of crafts and decoration, where Proenza Schouler realises an interesting study of eastern artisanship and kimono shaping.

Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

Gone was the retro kitch of last season, it was hello to a more minimalist theme at Proenza Schouler for fall 2012. The dus had said they took inspiration from their trip to Peru and Bhutan. The show opened with crisp white cottons.  Big boxy jackets, shirtdresses and skirts were  flat, precise layers that folded across the body with uneven hems and workwear details.
After the extremes, a more understandable part came with natural shapes, including suit jackets and stiff wrap skirts made from intricately woven leather in red, black and gold.
The show ended on a distinct Oriental note. The designers vacationed in Bhutan in October when the country was focused on its king’s wedding. They were taken with the colors and patterns of the traditional national garb, which inspired the elaborate brocades they used for  short dresses with stiffened, arched hems, and a sweatshirt done in quilted silk embroidered with two exotic birds.

 

Jeremy Scott Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

The rainbow spectacle Jeremy Scott presented yesterday looked back to the nineties, and at moments to the seventies, and maybe further away.  There were sweat suits, stretch dresses, and leggings printed with computer screen shots and instant-message emoticons. “We use them to communicate our emotions,” Scott explained to the press. “I’m angry, I’m happy, I’m horny, I feel kind of flirty. That’s now a legitimate answer.”

Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

The fall collection of Philosophy di Alberta Ferreti was an ode to the young professional which resulted in  a strong collection of polished, professional clothes, layered with feminine, modern touches. Crisp white power suits cinched at the waist, formfitting white dresses in a slightly stricter silhouette and chic coats. That, along with several other pieces, were perfectly suited for a boardroom meeting. For high-glamour moments, she suggested several metallic and PVC dresses.

Preen Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

Designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi were inspired by Beatrix Potter’s botanical illustrations, Victorian-era scrapbooks and abstract expressionists. The result was a cool collection, with a heavy use of prints, texture and color on flirty tops and skirts paired with two-tone tailored separates and knitted sweaters.

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