3.1 Phillip Lim Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

Phillip Lim did a lot with practical sportswear, elevating simple pieces, such as A-line minis, shifts and boyish trousers with a bit retro plaids — micro and macro — in sour shades of green, rust and brown. The beginning of the show had a neo-rockabilly attitude cross-pollinated with the unusual sporty Zen of quilted nylon puffers with kimono trims and flat, hardy sandals.

It was a thoughtful collection, full of left-of-center ideas that worked. Some of the best looks fused utility and romance, such as a series of Army green items, including cargo pants with patchwork-velvet panels and an oversize parka with a fur hood, slashed elbows and orange embroidery. Lim also joined in the season’s velvet renaissance, with a burnt-orange velvet suit, a fitted navy motor jacket with leather sleeves and velvet booties, some of which had a contrasting silver toe.

Tommy Hilfiger Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

Tommy Hilfiger hit the deck by transforming the Park Avenue Armory into the T.H. Atlantic, a massive vessel leaving no nautical motif out to sea in his fall collection. Set up like a giant, early 20th-century passenger liner under a starry night sky with VIPs seated on the deck, the show was a Tommy Hilfiger theme park. The takes on admiral jackets, stripes, sailor pants and tops and Thirties-era printed silk dresses with Peter Pan and sailor collars were executed with a high level of polish.

Victoria Beckham Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear Fw2016

Victoria Beckham’s idea for fall 2016 was to make the bustier appropriate for day She cut it in unexpected materials like Prince of Wales check with a bright waxed thread stitched through it and in thick, spongy houndstooth jacquards, both with cutouts sliced below the bustline. These fabrics aren’t necessarily designed to hug a woman’s curves, but she can also opt for the body-con ribbed knit pieces (solids and striped) that Beckham layered over each other to achieve a similarly curvy effect.

To balance that, she also experimented with volume, sending out bubble skirts and others that flared generously to below the knee over flat shoes. Outerwear was strong: Softly structured clutch coats with fringe detailing at the hem shared the runway with more sartorially, sharply tailored numbers in menswear checks.

Public School Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

While New York was trying to survive the cold, harsh weather in aggressively styled, street-influenced layers, it could not foresee that this also echoed in Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne’s fall collection of Public School. That meant their compilations of oversize, athletic outerwear, sweeping tailoring and utility gear is relevant and resonating in the streets of today. It also meant the idea is not so new. Chow and Osborne weren’t static about it, though. They kept things fresh with a few bold fuchsia and rust combinations to jolt all the abundance of black, and worked in knit coats and big jeans with raw, fringed finishes that brought a worked-on hand to the lineup. The rugged shearlings looked cool and perfect for todays weather.

Opening Ceremony Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon from Opening Ceremony chose a future-focused them for their fall 2016 collection. They took their cues from Syd Mead, the artist who designed the cityscape in Blade Runner and the digiscape of Tron. Lim and Leon projected themselves into a future where people still need matter-of-fact outerwear to keep them warm while they’re riding around on their hoverboards, and miniskirts and over-the-knee boots to wear on their virtual reality dates, and slouchy knits and boot-cut jeans for casual dinners out. The futurism was mostly reflected in the collection’s holographic fabrications, which ran from lacquered croc print to burnout metallic swirls to high-shine velvet jacquard. One of the coolest textiles here was a fine knit embedded with multicolor crystals. Also cool: the Opening Ceremony tees and palazzo pants in a lamé-like silver fabric.
Leon and Lim also paid homage to Syd Mead directly in a number of pieces, knitting his illustrations into sweaters and printing them onto sweatshirts.

Alexander Wang Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

Alexander Wangs’s fall show was a trip back to the age of experimental adolescence: ignore outdated taboos and instead seek what’s off limits was his message.
But taboos are hard to find these days. So-called bad taste is a megatrend right now, coursing through fashion up from the street and down from the runways. Wang’s collection, with its mash-up of prim tweed suits and tank dresses subverted by hefty hardware and skimpy hemlines; delicate, sheer tulle tops disrupted with brash censor bars bearing words like “strict” and “tender” across the breasts; and pretty lace insets shaped like marijuana leaves on dresses, was more cute than vulgar. The pink corduroys that riffed on classic prep by replacing polo ponies with strippers on a pole were particularly on-the-nose.
The accessories were good, too, including an expansion on Wang’s recently launched jewelry collection with chain-link rhodium earrings and leather-and-rhodium chokers.

Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Leave it up to Viktor & Rolf to blow our minds with a collection of wearable art (turning into almost unwearable art). Starting off with a perfect cute little white polo dress inspired by Cubist portraits the couture pieces got bigger and bolder with every single look. Slowly yet steadily turning that girl in the little white dress paired with the latest black shaded Dr. Martens 1460 Ajax Boots into a girl sporting a larger than life white totem. Eyes, noses and lips everywhere, in the mix with V&R’s signature sculptural XL ruffles and bows made out of a white technical piqué. Walking couture sculptures, letting Viktor and Rolf focus on what they’re best at and what they love the most; designing pure pieces of art. Creations not necessarily meant to be worn (although we’d love to see a totem look on some runway any time soon, what do you say front row guest Iggy Azalea..?) or make money with (V&R fragrances cover most of that part), but crafted couture to entertain and inspire. This was undoubtedly the most original take on the crispy white polo shirt we’ve ever laid our eyes on and we won’t soon forget.

 

ILJA by Ilja Visser Couture Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Ever since last season Ilja Visser is ‘one of the big guys’. Meaning on Wednesday the 27th of January the Dutch designer was officially part of the Paris Haute Couture Week for the second time. She chose Palais Vivienne as the show location for the presentation of her SS16 couture collection ‘ASSIMILA’. Quite the classical, baroque backdrop to Ilja’s modern, clean, yet sculptural creations, which, as she explained, were an ode to contemporary femininity. A theme Ilja further elaborated on with crafted, soft shapes, textures and colors (whites, nudes as well as touches of orange and green) that carried a modern attitude. Designs looked impeccable, unique, refreshing and desirable. With an ability to please both the couture shopping rich ladies as well as some popstar stylists (Beyoncé dresser attended the show). Asymmetric strapless dresses, structured jackets, boxy tops and slip dresses and cropped tops; this was couture with a definite cool factor ready to be picked up by Hollywood’s/The fashion world’s latest it-girls. Now the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture might be a dinosaur institute that sure didn’t stop Ilja from giving her scheduled show an extra fashion forward touch. She arranged special light effects to create vivid colors on some of the models. Fresh faced models with a personality, who exceeded in their diversity, representing Ilja’s ‘urban cool’ and ‘new pretty’ beauty norm. Modern talented women, professionals, mothers, spouses and friends Ilja wants to be unapologetic while chasing their dreams. Like she is doing herself, and quite successfully so.

Mick Keus Amsterdam Fashion Week fall/winter 2016

Mick Keus made his way onto the fashion week programme this season. The fashion artist usually works on re-appropriating vintage Levi’s 501 for today. Tonight he got a chance to show of his hard customising work during his own show. And since there’s no better way of showing Mick’s jeans than showing them on the people who wear them (daily, weekly, monthly) Mick’s models were a diverse bunch of people. The people who let the jeans revive in today’s world with the perfect custom fit. Jeans that become one with their new owner for a new life in Levi’s.

Nikkie Plessen Catwalk Fashion Show Fall 2016

Dutch designer Nikkie Plessen held her second official show in the Netherlands yesterday with special guest-model Maartje Verhoef. It was a fun collection, with a mix of cool casual wear, cocktaildresses, comfy knitwear and shirts with tongue-in-cheek graphics. Besides a businesswoman Nikkie Plessen is also a funky partygirl and that shows.Let’s get the party started then.

« Previous Page — Next Page »