Nicholas K and Porter Grey Fall 2011: Grungey and Girly Prep
Perhaps it was telling that we were blasting The Cranberries’ “Zombie” on our way to Nicholas K’s 9 a.m. show this morning. True to their trademark downtown-meets-military aesthetic, brother/sister duo Nicole and Christopher Kunz sent out a collection that My So-Called Life’s Angela Chase would flip for. A mix of goat hair-trimmed leather toppers, cocoon-like parkas (a Nicholas K signature piece), and plenty of velvet separates in autumnal evergreens and burgundies–the looks seemed straight out the 90s grunge-glam movement. And since those endless layers of leather and wool can swallow a person whole, the designers cinched the silhouettes with plaid button-ups tied offhandedly around the models’ waists. We especially love the skirts (cut in both flannel and leather) that riffed off the same vibe with their built-in “belts” fashioned from actual sleeves. Each look was shown with either combat boots or creepers (the indisputable shoe of the moment). Unfortunately, comfy and cool as they might be, stacked-sole flats aren’t always the best for strutting—one model took not one, but two tumbles in her chunky lace-ups.

