I had the pleasure of meeting Mairim Gersholowitz from Fashion POV at the IFB Conference on Monday and she was kind enough to invite me and some other bloggers to Susan Cianciolo’s FW2010 presentation, “Underneath The Sea, Inside A Mountain”. I’ll go ahead and award Cianciolo with the dreamiest presentation title of the week.
I arrived later than I had intended and had to leave early so I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked to learn about the collection– but I was able to snap a bunch of pictures, chat with some lovely bloggers (more on that later), and drink a couple of delicious cocktails. Another award for having the best drinks of the week.
Blue was everywhere this week. A strong color for FW2010. This was a great example.
The piece on the right was my favorite. It also helped that the model was absolutely stunning.
This was my favorite necklace – geode inspired jewelry is another strong trend.
The quality of these photos does not do the color palette any justice. I was really intrigued by the colors and the dyeing method used on the clothing, some of which looked like they had been made from re-purposed materials. [Personal Side Note - learning about dye was one of my favorite parts of taking a textiles course at FIT.]
As I was leaving, I thought to myself that this presentation blends really well with
Two days ago, a friend asked me why I love Band of Outsiders so much. He complained that the line is too preppy. Well, yes, I agreed. It is preppy and that’s the point. There are some of us out there who still love American classics and appreciate quirky reinterpretations of them.
Everyone knows that I love a good blazer; there are 8 (black) blazers in my closet right now. For the record, each of them is a different cut. What I love about these jackets from BOO is that they cut away at the waist. Thank goodness too – because as much as I love the blazer trend, I’ll enjoy having a clearly defined waist once again.
Navy outerwear! Shades of blue carried the collection and I loved that yellow was a powerful accent color. It’s a cheerful combination. Exposed zippers are nothing new but extreme toggles are a reason to get excited. There were hints of the toggle trend last season but I hope it takes off this year. I love a good toggle just as much as I love a good exposed ankle.
On several occasions, I have remarked that I would wear my track spikes out and about if it wouldn’t ruin my legs and floor surfaces.
Finally, what I love about Band of Outsiders and designer Scott Sternberg is the elaborate set design/ attention to detail used when styling the BOO presentations. This year Sternberg was said to be inspired by Joan Didion amd REI hiking socks – that’s pretty much the coolest inspiration ever. The set also featured a Jaguar that Sternberg rented from a woman via Craigslist as well as models suspended from the ceiling.
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.
Earlier this morning, I saw this tweet from LL Bean_PR. Fast forward a few hours, I’m at Bryant park when I spot a rather stylish man sporting some bean boots. I had to practically stalk him to get this shot with my cell phone but I felt rather accomplished once I had. And then jealous because the boots I was wearing weren’t helping me much in what’s left of the snow.
Trendology is the case study of a fashion obsessed Gemini living on a fixed income in NYC. To contact, please e-mailJillian [trendology.blog (at) gmail.com].
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.
