mia

Dear Readers,

Excuse the lack of posts. Consider this a breather for not only me, but you as well before things pick back up. Adjusting to a new city and finding work can be time consuming beyond belief and as a result, draining on all fronts, especially my creativity. The fashion month coverage was more sparse than what I'd care for it to have been on this blog, but you can check out the dozens of reviews I wrote on the 212DRESSINGROOM blog and I'd recommend taking a peek at Bitch, Please's extensive reviews. Overall, I thought it was a weak season. Women are going to have a tough time balancing on insanely high heels and not looking ridiculous in harem panted jumpsuits or transparent laden pieces. The collections that really said something beyond what the trends dictated were the ones that really stuck out as defiantly beautiful and innovative with a bit of accessibility. If women's fashion has the edge of fantasy over men's, that's what should come through in the designs, however women of today need something functional and ultimately comfortable, wearable, and fitted to their own personalities. A seemingly impossibly magic trick to pull off, but it's what keeps fashion relevant and evolutionary.

Here are the top collections of the Spring/Summer 2009 season:

Dries Van Noten
Jil Sander
Narciso Rodriguez
Marc Jacobs
Ann Demeulemeester
Lanvin
Giles Deacon
Yves Saint Laurent
Calvin Klein
Balenciaga

christopher kane

The overflow of designers and collections at New York Fashion Week can lead to state of fatigue that can result in a week pause until the Milan collections. That's a mistake because London has become an interesting mecca for designers trying to push fashion as far as it can go. At times I find it to be a hipster parade of costumes (see Henry Holland), but Christopher Kane's fall collection was tight, loose, and very focused. The thread of the paillette beading was there in almost every look, or the idea of something circular, but it was a balance between something innately glamorous and utterly modern that made it a standout amidst the fray.

Kane initially broke out on the London fashion scene as an heir to a Versace look--very bright, very body conscious sexy. He even had Donatella's approval, but in recent seasons he's loosened up the shape without forgetting the body. For all rigorous beading and intense leather accents, there was a softness in the English Rose primness of a jacket and skirt set or an exaggerated cable knit turtleneck. The look was tough and sensual when leather pants became the lean steam for the silhouette on the bottom and sheer bits of fabric exposed flashes of flesh here and there. The short beaded shift dresses reminded me of Audrey Hepburn in the final scene of "Two for the Road", but felt new with panels of floaty material falling over the dresses. The neutral color palette was sedated and necessary in a collection where so much emphasis was put on construction and subtle embellishment. A sense of movement in the evening looks were unique and achieved the effect of smoke pluming around the body.

There was something to look at and find more surprising in each look. It's a hard act as a young designer when each collection is more crucial than the next, but Kane's fall collection showed a strength and a point of view worth watching season after season.