Thursday was a strange day for fashion. It was the start of New York Fashion Week (F/W 2010) and now it will also be known as the day that Alexander McQueen died. I learned the news within the first 10 minutes of being awake -around the time that more industrious (and organized) bloggers  were arriving at the tents- and news was just carrying over from England. It set a particular tone. So many of us were waiting for another source to confirm whether or not it was true – I hoped it was a hoax- that the start of shows didn’t really seem terribly exciting.

I am, however, really bummed that I wasn’t able to attend Unreserved,  a showcase for emerging American Indian artists, which is organized by Unreserved – American Indian Fashion and Art Alliance. Take a second to think about how awesome it is that this org/event even exists within the industry!  It was an installation featuring both accessory and RTW designers and was held at the Bryant Park Hotel Loft and from what I’ve heard it was pretty amazing. If you click over to Dream Sequins, you can get an account of the event.

I did, however, rally in time to attend the Karolina Zmarlak presentation, Deco Reverie by the Sea. Zmarlak is a fellow FIT grad who apprenticed at Carolina Herrera and Theory and this was only her second presentation at NY Fashion Week. I was thankful that Tala could join me for the event, which was held inside of the old CBGB spot, now known as E_P. It was packed and The Postelles were playing hard and loud when we arrived. We had to push against the crowd to see the pieces, which were accessorized with jewelry from CocoTay and footwear from Su-Yoon. Before attending, I had read that Zmarlak’s inspiration came from a combination of 1950s Miami and Art Deco design and architecture- an intriguing mix. Zmarlak is known for her use of reversible fabrics and I was wondering how that concept would be executed given her design concept.

Photos courtesy of Karolina Zmarlak

For me, it was the styling that pulled the show together into something cohesive. The old fashioned (knit?) swim caps decorated with jeweled  broaches sold the concept of winter time glamor at the beach. Without them, I think I may have interpreted the collection differently.

Tala and I agreed that our favorite piece from the collection was the draped leather vest. My blurry camera phone photo doesn’t do it justice; the leather looked soft and creamy and I imagine that it can be worn a number of ways. I also enjoyed Zmarlak’s fox furs which were inspired by the colors in Georgia Okeefe’s flower paintings. The furs did a lot to highlight the 1950s Old Hollywood style that influenced Zmarlak. Overall, the event seemed very successful and Karolina Zmarlak should certainly be proud of her second showing.