NYFW round up [aw2010]: Calvin Klein, A. Wang, Rodarte, Proenza Schouler, Matthew Ames, Richard Chai Love, Richard Chai [men’s]

Calvin Klein

Fresh. Minimal. Simple. Francisco Costa effortlessly personified these words this season. Beautifully tailored jackets and trousers and long-sleeved maxi dresses were just a few of the things that conjured up an air of sophistication and maturity. Keeping the color palette minimal, there was a lot of focus on the lines and silhouettes. This was a clean collection that was beautifully executed, and it was also a reminder of two things: 1) Francisco Costa can do no wrong, and 2) a little goes a long way.

Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang’s collections progressively become more esoteric with each season and cannot be fully digested right away. I find that you have to come back to it after seeing it for the first time and try to unpack it as much as you can, almost dissect it in a way. After doing so, then perhaps you can justly review it and form an opinion.

There was a fusion of nostalgia with intangible ideas wrapped up in Wang’s collection. The nostalgia stemmed from the use of velvet throughout. To me velvet brings me back to childhood and wearing velvet dresses and shoes, and surely many other girls have made similar connections. Velvet is not commonly or easily worked into the every-day wardrobe. It was interesting that Wang made it a focal point of the collection. The inability to grasp certain ideas stemmed from the proportions and silhouettes, and also from certain details here and there. Perhaps it is a matter of going back and studying the collection more closely, but for some reason, I just cannot put my finger on it.

Rodarte

The Mulleavy sisters know their strength and know it well. Every collection they put out seems to be an extension of the last, with their continued display of beautiful layering and interweaving of different prints, fabrics and textures. With so many things going into the collection, it ran the risk of looking like someone’s laundry basket, but these girls artfully marry all of these elements together to beautifully construct these pieces. They are able to take colors and fabrics that have absolutely nothing to do with on another, and have no business being in the same garment, and create a visually stunning, organic symbiosis. What’s also nice is the fact they have softened up quite a bit this season and lessened the grip of the apocalyptic, dark aesthetic they’ve had going on for a while, but not for one second have they abandoned their technique and identity.

Proenza Schouler

The Proenza Schouler girl was not so prim and proper this season. She was a little dark, with a bit of a street mentality.  However, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez did not completely sweep the girlishness under the rug, as there were short skirts and babydoll dresses galore. They simply took them and gave them a dark edge with the inclusion of blacks and evergreens. There was something very New York socialite about this collection (which comes at no surprise since the duo’s circle is pretty much made up of them), but more so very NY prep school. McCollough and Hernandez established this motif with their take on the classic varsity jackets and school girl outfits. Their experimentation with proportions might have been the highlight of the collection. The cropped jackets and sweaters were paired interchangeably with both tight, skinny jeans and short skirts, and there were longer coats reaching the hem of the dresses. The prints were playful, and bold and did not in the slightest hinder the collection.

Matthew Ames

Every season, Matthew Ames ups the ante and does something new, all while staying true to the essence of his designs. His use of leather was something that we haven’t seen from him before. He was able to take something as tough as leather and construct pants with a full silhouette, as well as tops with more angular, geometric cuts. Ames has always mastered the art of finding the balance between organic and geometric shapes. He’s also never afraid to use color in a way that most designers could not. Orange and mustard yellow made strong cameos, but what heightened the boldness of these colors was the fact that they appeared in a variety of textures and fabrics. The color palette was quite extensive, ranging from pastels to black, making sure there was something in this collection for everyone. Matthew Ames is always able to challenge himself season after to season and churn out something beautiful each time.

Richard Chai Love

Richard Chai abandoned any and all conventions in fashion and created his own manifesto on how to dress. A classic pea-coat can be worn with casual leggings, a maxi dress can be paired with a dress shirt. There are no holds barred. Through Chai’s collection a message of liberation was imbedded. We don’t have to be confined to banal notions like a day vs. night look. Who cares? There is no wrong or right way to approach fashion, and so the wearer is free to do what she wants. Chai showed looks that could be deconstructed, rearranged, and layered a number of ways. There were pieces that were classic, casual, hard, and soft and they all played off each other nicely. He gave us what we wanted—choices.

Richard Chai

Gentlemen, please take note.

For the men,  Chai re-worked classic silhouettes and put a Parisian boy-esque spin on them. It was a quintessential display of effortless, cool. The muted tones, the mixes of blues, the layering all catered to this casual aesthetic that was completely uncontrived. Chai’s strength as a designer is growing exponentially and he has proven himself to be a trusted menswear designer.

photos: style.com & gq.com



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Odyn Vovk AW2010 preview

Austin Sherbanenko of Odyn Vovk brewed a very smart and well thought out collection that made sense from beginning to end. This seasons’s collection was inspired by the deserts of Abu Dabi/Dubai, which was brilliantly reflected in his color palate. The collection was seamlessly cohesive, but managed to break up the collection into sub-categories and color stories that easily lent themselves to one another. The color palatte including 4 prominent hues: rust, bone, black and army green. They all worked in unison and complimented each other.

The cohesiveness did not just end at the color choices. Sherbanenko strung together various motifs in the actual construction of the garments that added character and established a strong identity. He explored the idea of deconstruction to give his garments a rustic, worn in look.

Perhaps Sherbanenko can be considered an illusionist because his pieces seem simple, but the there is so much thought put into the construction of his garments and tedious pattern making that makes you appreciate the line and aesthetic so much more. Many of the garments were constructed out of just two pieces of fabric, there were jackets with two-piece sleeves, there were hidden pockets and subtle design details that had such an impact in the collection.

The fabric choices were sublime. Italian boucle, melton wool, destroyed and waxed calf were just a few of the selections that composed the beautifully edited collection.

This collection seems very promising and demonstrates the value of construction and design.



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Men’s RTW FW2010: Rick, YSL, Dries, Givenchy

Rick Owens

Rick Owens classed it up a little bit for fall 2010 presenting a more tailored and luxurious line up of looks. This is probably his most luxurious men’s collection yet, with the inclusion of fur and alligator skin. Owens toyed with the idea of classically constructed garments with beautifully tailored sports coats and overcoats, but at the same time infusing the Rick Owens spirit we are so familiar with (asymmetry, architectural draping). It was nice to see that the collecton was not heavy on the black side. The taupe and neutral tones were quite refreshing (he played around with it a little for ss2010 as well) and sat nicely between the blacks and whites. This collection was by far stronger than ss2010. Rick cannot be pigeon-held into this gothic aesthetic, because clearly he can do so much more, and this polished collection proves it.

YSL

Stefano Pilati kept it slim and lean for fw2010. However he left room to make some interesting sartorial choices for those who were a little more experimental. For those who who are fans of classic french tailoring, they could opt for the double breasted jacket. For those who want to break away from the norm of menswear, they could go for the low-cut, sleeveless jumpsuit. Pilati did a good job of covering his bases in terms of the YSL man. There was something in there for everyone. Also each of the looks could have easily been broken down and worn interchangeably and it still would have made a good outfit.

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten’s collection this season was not too thrilling. It may have to do with the fact that it was a tad reminiscent of Raf Simon’s men’s spring 2010 collection. The same ideas carried through in Dries’ collection. The belts over the outerwear idea is something we’ve definitely seen before. Besides that, the prints that were used (we all know Van Noten is an aficionado of prints) were not strong. In fact, they were quite distracting. It was more so the pairing of different textiles that were off and did not enhance the collection. Van Noten managed to squeeze many different design elements into this collection, and the inclusion of piping was one that could have been left out. On the bright side, the cuts of the garments were quite nice, because they were weren’t too tailored and structured, but kept a sharp silhouette at the same time.

Givenchy

Showing probably one of the strongest collections thus far this season, Riccardo Tisci kept it very clean and crisp, while ignoring certain seasonal rules. For instance, sandals for fall winter is unheard of, but this is Riccardo’s world and we’re just living in it. The pieces were tailored, minimal, and classic. While other designers this season focused on the cinching of waists to create shape, Tisci focused on the proportion of of the looks, keeping it very slim on the bottom and natural up top. The dinner jackets, the crisp shirts, all of it was impeccable. Simplicity wet a long way for Tisci. There was no need for any extra tid-bits here and there. Riccardo Tisci made a strong statement, with a well executed vision.



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