When Tommy Hilfiger took his bow on the runway Thursday night at Bryant Park, he closed a 17-year run on New York's busiest runway-show spot. The last designer to present his collection at the Tents before New York Fashion Week moves to Lincoln Center, Hilfiger took the opportunity to celebrate with an emotional speech - and, of course, a dance party after that.
In front of a celeb-heavy front row (Ashley Olsen, Penn Badgley and Rosario Dawson were there), Hilfiger showed a collection of preppy styles with a kick. Neutrals like camel and dove grey were punctuated with berry red. Kilt skirts were amped up to full volume, and evening gowns were made daring with billowing ruffles and thigh-high slits. Hilfiger - with consultation from Peter Som - turned out American fashion at its most comforting. And that made a perfect goodbye to BP.
Now this shoot looks like a good time. Terry Richardson shot Jessica Stam for ALDO's SS10 campaign, and as this behind-the-scenes video shows, that ended with the Canadian beauty playing around with inflatable lips, kicking her heels as a pinup girl, and enjoying a large - but very fake - ice cream cone. Her male counterpart also let loose, poking fun at another Richardson project: Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds album cover.
The idea behind the shoot? That we all like to play dress-up, and that one style might not even take us through the whole day. Of course, a game of dress-up is always much better when you have good building blocks to work with, like woven red platform wedges, a new take on saddle shoes, maybe some Studio 54-style gold earrings...we could go on.
The 3.1 Phillip Lim show drew both Alexa Chung and Irina Lazareanu to New York Fashion Week, with Chung choosing a jacket and peace-sign tee, and Lazareanu sporting a sparkly, double-breasted style.
Touches of '70s - specifically, the days when disco was heading into punk - ventured into a knockout fall 3.1 Phillip Lim collection. This season, Phillip Lim went back to what he does best (zeitgeisty sportswear), with a range of outerwear that should top every young, fashionable girl's wishlist later this year. We particularly liked a shearling-lined leather bomber with removable trench detailing.
As usual, Lim brought out short, pretty dresses (some in sequins and lame). But besides coats, trousers were the story of the hour. High-waisted varieties and flares took over, with a blown-up plaid print adding points of interest. With Alexa Chung sitting front-row at Lim's show, we can guess those styles will get in the right hands to gain it-girl status.
If you've been keeping up with Bravo's new series 'Kell on Earth,' then you've already been introduced to Kelly Cutrone's dealings with Spanish designer David Delfin. The People's Revolution founder took a moment to pose with Roxy Olin of 'The City' before the show, which saw Tom-Ford-days Gucci model Eleonora Bose return to the runway. The model's yellow-orange hair matched one of the only colour pops in the Fall '10 Davidelfin collection, largely based around a palette of black, grey and white.
Delfin destructed and reconstructed his pieces, often creating sartorial illusions with his garments. (Whole sections cropped off of jackets would later show up as skirts, for example.) A few bursts of neon pink broke up the collection's austerity, which provided solid clean lines but could be accused of being too clean. We would, however, like Davidelfin's combination of a grey blazer, crisp white button-up and pleated black satin skirt. We'd pair it with towering platforms, of course, for doing our errands before watching 'Kell on Earth.'
For all this blather about youthful revolt, [Phillip] Lim is keeping alive one of the most offensive and ridiculous traditions of Fashion Week: giving gift bags to front-row attendees only. Newsflash - these privileged people don't need any more free stuff. Far better to have left those sacks on the seats in the last row, where a present really means something.
Excuse the delay in sharing Lady Gaga's Brit Award style with you, as fashion-week mania has set in completely. Gaga went from an ivory tiered cape to a nearly nude performance onstage, adorning herself with an elaborate wig with and lace eyebrows. As Lady G accepted her awards, she also paid thanks to the late Alexander McQueen, calling him by his first name, Lee. You can see the performance she dedicated to him here.
"We'll be seeing some of those gowns on March 7," one seasoned fashion writer said at the W lounge at Bryant Park, after the Marchesa presentation at the Chelsea Art Museum. And we agree. Not that we actually question anymore whether starlets will be wearing the label to the Oscars (it's a given), but this season, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig gave their clientele especially fluid and camera-grabbing styles to choose from.
Inspired by the courtesan Lola Montez (and no, we weren't familiar with her either), the Marchesa girls delivered a whimsical collection full of feathers, 3D-effect lace and lots of ruffles. An ethereal, Swan Lake-style minidress cinched with black grosgrain ribbon caught our eye, as well as the real showstopper of the collection: a silver bugle-beaded gown that could have been liquid metal. We're not sure who'll be sporting that to next month's Academy Awards, but we bet the requests have already flooded in.
Proenza Schouler'sstrong front row at a largely light-on-celebs fashion week should be a testament to the brand's buzz - and with an inventive street-art collection that included a collaboration with J Brand denim, Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez earned the attention. Keeping up with the preppy-gone-bad vibe and catering to their long-legged starlet fans, the designers turned out a print-heavy collection that we imagine will cause chaos in the shops.
First, for the denim. The Proenza boys created hand-painted scribble-print designs, sitting high on the waist and keeping the silhouette lean and clean. For other styles, we favoured babydoll minidresses in off-kilter "plaids" the designers created by wavering pictures of traditional checked designs across a photocopier. Thigh-highs and the label's PS 11 bag accessorised the looks, along with wine-stained lips and tousled hair. That's enough to keep us interested, and we can probably say the same for fiercely loyal Team Proenza.
