SHIATZY CHEN - PARIS F/W 2012 RUNWAY Chinese designer Shiatzy Chen’s F/W 2012/13 collection, Weaving a Dream, draws from the Miao culture of Southern China and Southeast Asia to inform Chen’s contemporary designs. The Miao people were culturally isolated for centuries, leading them to create forms of embroidery and totems that express their history and…
STEFFIE CHRISTIAENS - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Working at the atelier of avant-garde houses Balenciaga and Maison Martin Margiela has finely honed Dutch designer Steffie Christiaens construction and imagination, clearly influencing her Fall 2012 collection inspired by ice. Christiaens imagined her designs as ice that had been corrupted by pollutants, in gray, black, and white,…
TALBOT RUNHOF - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW The design team behind Talbot Runhof, Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof, were inspired to create their Fall 2012 collection, Bésame Mucho, after watching Anne Bancroft’s masterful performance as Nora Dinsmoor in the 1998 film adaptation of Great Expectations. The pair identified with the young woman who was…
VANESSA BRUNO - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Vanessa Bruno, known for her Parisian chic ensembles and recent American popularity, thanks to her first store in LA, presented a darker collection for Fall 2012 that showcased Bruno’s muse, a pixie-like girl with a hard, contemporary, city edge. The muted palette of bottle green and violet…
VÉRONIQUE LEROY - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Véronique Leroy is a master of all things volume and oversized, channeling that into her Fall 2012 collection to create a wardrobe made for a rebellious girl trying to become a productive member of society. To Leroy, this means mixing elegant, maternal clothing, with the young girls punk…
VALENTIN YUDASHKIN - PARIS F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Valentin Yudashkin, mixed velvet, leather, and lace in blacks, beiges, and gold, to create structured body-conscious silhouettes. Tailored pieces emphasized the body with hourglass shaped pleating and graphic prints, while skirts flared away from the body adding a girly playfulness. The collection was simple and clean cut…
ZANDRA RHODES - PARIS F/W 2012 INTERVIEW BY INDIRA CESARINE Zandra Rhodes presented a retrospective of her career as part of the On|Off shows in Paris. This is the first time she’s shown at fashion week since 2007 when she launched her MAC make up line in London, and the first time she’s shown her designs…
This past week, the winners of Le Festival International de Mode et de Photographie à Hyères were announced. In fashion, Siiri Raasakka, Tiia Siren & Elina Laitenen, menswear designers from Finland, were awarded the L'Oreal Professionel prize which includes a 15,000 euro grant. Estonian Ragne Kikas's collection "Dress Code Defensive" won the Première Vision award, which…
CARLOS CAMPOS - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera inspired Carlos Campos when designing his Fall 2012 collection. Using accents of various reds on neutral, yellowy earth tones, Campos wanted his collection to, “mix romanticism with realism within the fantasy of García Márquez's writing.” The collection is composed of color…
EIGHTEENTH - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Alexa Galler, the Ecco Domani Foundation winner, presented her fall 2012 collection of the label Eighteenth, which was heavily inspired by her own father. Galler took menswear and re-imagined it for the female form, including weekend staples such as oversized men’s blazers, oxford shirts, and cozy sweaters. The…
EMERSON - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Initially inspired by a doll produced in Germany during World War Two, Emerson designer Jackie Fraser-Swan’s began to research, and was soon immersed in, the style of 1940s women who were entering the workforce for the first time. It was out of these images that Emerson’s Fall 2012 collection…
ERICKSON BEAMON - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Karen Erickson and Vicki Beamon’s first ready-to-wear presentation for their label Erickson Beamon took guests on a journey to a Prohibition Era burlesque bar where models mingled with guests in sequined, flapper style slips. The collection was an array of slinky cocktail gowns in silk, sequins, and feathers…
GEOFFREY MAC - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW It should come as no surprise that Geoffrey Mac regularly dresses musical superstars such as Lady Gaga, L’il Kim, and Britney Spears. His graphic, skin-tight, super hero inspired attire features high-end construction and styling that works whether on stage or going out to a club. His Fall 2012…
IRINA SHABAYEVA - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Irina Shabayeva, winner of Project Runway season 6, showed her Fall 2012 collection of wedding gowns and evening wear at the Eventi Hotel. A number of the gowns, which were shown in red, white, and blue, featured sweetheart necklines, mermaid skirts, and a black vine brocade…
JEREMY SCOTT - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW The nineties were back in all of their technicolor glory at Jeremy Scott’s Fall 2012 runway show. Scott drew inspiration from the internet and the way it allows us to constantly reference the past, as he said at the show, “Deleting history isn’t really possible.” Scott drew…
JOHN BARTLETT - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION With a grant from Lexus, John Bartlett has completely relaunched his eponymous line and crafted a new Fall 2012 collection with a one hundred percent commitment to ethics. This means that all of the fabrics in the collection were either synthetically created, or recycled from vintage pieces. The…
KATYA LEONOVICH - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Katya Leonovich, a young, up and coming designer, demonstrated her talent for construction and detailing at the presentation of her Fall 2012 collection. Katya mixed snake skin, leather, metallics, and prints inspired by her own artwork to create sharp, tailored suits and heavily draped and ruched…
LARS ANDERSSON - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION PRESENTATION Lars Andersson is a Swedish designer with a focus on knitwear and what he refers to as, “black metal surfwear,” using fine Japanese and Italian yarns. The Fall 2012 collection had a cool, laid back silhouette featuring oversized cardigans and vests with draping that gave them a…
MALAN BRETON - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Malan Breton drew from the disparate inspirations of James Bond movies and the idea of transparency when designing his Fall 2012 collection entitled “Fantôme.” The men’s looks consisted of impeccably tailored suits, fit for 007 himself, with pops of vibrant blue and red, with bow ties and…
MILLY BY MICHELLE SMITH - NEW YORK F/W 2012 FASHION SHOW Milly by Michelle Smith’s Fall 2012 collection, “Future Perfect” was girly and fun, with full, voluminous skirts in pink, blue and green, paired with fitted sweaters and cropped jackets. The collection was a nod to the 1960s American girl in Paris with lots of…
