New York Fashion Week has come to an end. And while what we really want to do is shut off our computers and tune out on Bravo, there are a few collections (sadly only a few) that we still can’t stop thinking about. So, here are our ten favorites, in no particular order.
Also, London Fashion Week started today, so stay tuned for more reviews!
Last night CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominee SUNO hosted its first-ever runway show at Milk. Perhaps it was the CFDA recognition that encouraged the brand to mature in many ways, from a presentation to a show, from kooky mixed prints to ladylike complementary patterns.
Minutes before the show, I speculated with a friend about how well SUNO’s intensely layered looks, complicated prints, and detailed accessories would translate to the five-second-glimpse of a look one gets at a fashion show… Not well, we decided. SUNO’s designers Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty must have agreed with us, since the kooky art-teacher-on-vacation vibe that permeated SUNO shows of yore was replaced with nothing short of ladylike glamor.
Opening ceremony has a lot going on for their carnival-themed Fashion’s Night Out bash in and around their Ace Hotel store location.
Firstly, the beloved indie department store will announce this year’s country of focus: Argentina. They’ll be partnering with 125-year-old Argentinean textile company Alpargatas to create limited edition shoes and clothing inspired by traditional Argentinean styles–in particular, they’ll be hawking jupe-soled Alpargatas (aka espadrille-like slip-ons), which, in case you hadn’t guessed, were pioneered by the company. Opening Ceremony will also carry Argentine designers, including JUNGLE Vi.Ai.Pi., Ale Sly, and Chicco Ruiz, to customize styles, colorways, and fabrications for the retailer and brand–all of which will become available this September.
Best of all though, is that Miss Piggy (yes, really) will be stopping by the brand’s store in the Ace Hotel this Fashion’s Night Out. Why you ask? To unveil her new collection with the brand, Muppets x Opening Ceremony a.k.a the best news we’ve heard all morning (and we’d still say that even if it weren’t a dreadfully slow summer news day)!
This year’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists are a mixed bag of prior nominees and newbies, clothing designers and jewelry makers, names that are on the tips of everyone’s tongues and names we’d never heard until last Thursday when the CFDA and Vogue announced them. Here’s a few details on each finalist, plus our thoughts on why each one could win, to help you decide who to root for.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Vogue have just announced the ten finalists for the eighth-annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund initiative, which provides financial support and business mentorship for emerging designers. The chosen ten include some of our favorites like Altuzarra, Suno and Fenton/Fallon. Click through to see who else made the cut!
When I was a kid, I had a book of old Hawaiian surfing stories with a 50’s-postcard style cover showing a bronzed surfer girl riding a wooden board, the flower in her flowing black hair matching her bright bikini. Being from a small beach town and having caught a few waves myself, I was totally obsessed with that image; I wanted to be perpetually tan and frolic through palm trees and make dresses out of hibiscus blossoms.
Obviously, things turned out a bit differently, and I’m left to sip coconut water in a park. But just as the heat descended upon the city and I began to lament the lack of fresh ocean air, Suno delivered a much needed dose of that Polynesian brilliance for resort 2012. Their prints are always fantastic and this resort collection didn’t disappoint; it pays homage to those same postcard-esque fronds, fruit and florals in a splashy ensemble that avoids the garish, bad-tourist-shirt vibe one often associates with tropical prints.
Suno
Deal: Up to 70% off the young label’s African-influenced dresses, tops, and bottoms, including one-of-a-kind pieces from their first collection (s/s 2009)
When/Where: Wednesday, May 11 through Friday, May 13. Daily noon—8pm. 242 W. 38th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves, third floor (no phone)
Link: www.sunony.com
Ends: Friday, 13 May 2011
Manolo Blahnik
Deal: Sexy heels starting at $100
When/Where: Thursday, May 12. VIP 9am—11am, open to the public 11am—3pm. The Warwick Hotel, 65 W. 54th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (no phone)
Link: www.manoloblahnik.com
Ends: Thursday, 12 May 2011
Rebecca Minkoff
Deal: The Boyfriend cross-body for $178 (was $295), the Studded Rocker for $182 (was $330), the Beloved Mini cross-body for $217 (was $395), and more
When/Where: Wednesday, May 11 through Sunday, May 15. Weds—Sat 10am—7pm, Sun 11am—5pm. 155 5th Ave between 21st and 22nd Sts (no phone)
Link: www.rebeccaminkoff.com
Everyone wants some Suno prints in their closet come summer, and now you can get them without having to leave the couch. Suno launched an e-commerce site yesterday where you can shop the brand’s spring and resort collections.
The site itself is meticulously designed to match the label’s print-tastic aesthetic. There’s no Adobe Flash here, as, according to a press release, “great strides were made to push the boundaries of a brave new Flash-less world.”
From tie-front skirts to Suno‘s floor-skimming maxi dresses, there’s enough merchandise on the site to do serious harm to any girl’s wallet, no matter how deep her pockets. Plus, Suno’s to-die-for wedges, born out of a collaboration with Loeffler Randall, are available on the site, and as of now they have every size (we can’t imagine they’ll last long though).
It’s hard to make online shopping a personal, thoughtful experience, but Suno’s making the effort.
Click through for this month’s mood board!
Whether it is accidental or deliberate, fashion imitates art. We stumbled across a South African blog, Miss Moss, that proves our theory.
The blogger juxtaposes street style snapshots and runway looks with paintings, costumes from period films, vintage design, and even pottery in an inventive series called “Color Comparisons” in which she creates side by side comparisons of Mary Katrantzou‘s creations with decorative oriental prints on ceramics.
Here are our top ten favorite pairings by Miss Moss.
When we arrived on time for a trio of Saturday evening presentations at MAC & Milk, we couldn’t possibly have predicted the insanity we were in for. With the fur-coat-wearing, Blackberry-brandishing masses attempting to simultaneously check in for Suno, Erin, Pamela Love, Billy Reid, Illesteva, and Altuzarra, suffice it to say that there weren’t quite enough iPads on hand to make the process run smoothly. After over an hour of waiting in the throng, we were informed that all the eighth-floor presentations had finished. While we aren’t surprised that 450 West 15th St. is an incredibly coveted show locale (regal and historic as Lincoln Center may be, it just doesn’t carry the same edgy-cool factor as MAC & Milk) we hope that as the week progresses, the downtown venue will step up its game and be better able to handle the crowds.
Click through to see who made our list–and why.
