Marc Jacobs is Brutal in Simplicity for Spring/Summer 2013.

For this spring, Marc Jacobs said that it is going to be all about restraint. According to Jacobs it is going to be "very, very, very brutal. Brutal in its simplicity. That's our new word for the season." The shift to this brutality is immense. One of the talents that Jacobs possesses is his ability ta make those giant seasonal changes while retaining his fashion identity, the trait he shares with Miuccia Prada and not many others.

His explosion of graphics has captured the attention of the fashion crowd. Rubberized leather leopard prints, micro sequined checkerboards and stripes, stripes, stripes. Is this restraint? By Jacobs' standards it is and they are absolutely wearable. Real clothes are plenty and touches of whimsy are in the mix.

The set was a huge triangular floor covered in pale leather tiles, the back wall a row of 15 revolving doors out of which the models emerged.

What emerged were silhouettes that were super elongated anchored by a low-slung skirt and jacket or coat cut lean through the shoulders worn with a perfectly matched handbag. The clothes were perfect, beautiful and sexy which is the message that Jacobs sent out for this spring season.

The lineup is a variation of short midriff-baring jackets and T-shirts over briefs. More girlier touches were curvy dresses, their wide stripes cut into flamboyant bicolored scalloped hems, and a terrific group that repeated many of the earlier shapes, in solids with ruffled two tone collars. Some linear stripes in variations that made provocative curves around the body were what Jacobs offered as well.

Evening consisted of floor-length sequinede T-shirts in contrasting black and white patterns wiht chiffon strips made for a girl to sparkle in a casual, engaging way. 

Marc Jacob has evolved so beautifully as a designer and has been consistently creating charming and feminine designs that have spirit and style.

Marc Jacobs

Spring/Summer

2013

Marchesa is India for Spring/Summer 2013.

What better than to look at India and its vibrant colors, enbroidery and its love of gold embellishments. For this spring Marchesa's Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig took a look at this country and really embraced its glory. They also cited the Sixties, when the Beatles turned to the Maharishi for their spiritual guru, as their inspiration.

Chapman and Craig approached India which was inspiring yet was a touch too literal. Draped dresses with elaborate adornments, saris, and midriff-exposing ghagra choli were shown and it was expected that some Bollywood musical would take place.

The collection did have its high points for sure. Many pieces were exquisite. One of which was a languid, white draped gown worn with gold embroidered illusion tights and the last dress in silver embroidery.

There is no mistake that Marchesa is supreme in eveningwear. It has an established reputation in high fashion and today anyone knows Marchesa and what it stands for. Beautiful clothes.

Rodarte Spring 2013 is not Subdued At All!

Kate and Laura Mulleavy that make up Rodarte, made up a wonderful collection that had a quality of dark mixed with romantic that looked dynamic, powerful and sexy. Kink seemed to be channeled as well. "Its not subdued at all," said Laura a few days before the show. "Its about medieval play and role-playing games." Sounds good to me.

There were references to armored warriors and perhaps road warriors. The wonderful thing about this show is that there was a wonderful mixture of beauty that celebrated femininity and its strength, which was perfect. Short, strapless dresses shown layered over tight, printed turtlenecks had bodices shaped like partial octagons that jutted away from the body like a breastplate.

Waistlines were embellished in chains and corset like metal embroidery were on long fluid skirts that were less aggressive and more romantic. There were some biker bitch influences which were fabulous in leather. This includes lace-up pants and quilted jackets with ample fringe and colorful silk trim.
The silhouettes that were dominant were short, structured dresses, boxy tops worn over skinny pants.

The mixture of textiles and construction showed that there was a lot of handwork. An example of this is the guipere lace that worked like chain mail and the woven jaquards and brocades. All this and more are the marvelous touches that make Rodarte recognized as smart, intelligent and creative designers.

Rodarte

Spring/Summer

2013

Michael Kors for Spring/Summer 2013 is Optimistic.

Michael Kors looked at architectural geniuses Lautner and Neutra funneling their geometric bravado through his own optimistic viewpoint. "We're West coast dreaming," he said in a preview. In other words he expressed a burst of graphic zest with bold color statements and the blue sky was an optimistic presence on photo printed pants.

Kors opened with a girl-guy pair both in striped sweaters, hers a red-and-navy bodysuit, paired with a crisp, zipped-to-the-waist gaberdine skirt. This led into a great line up that was done with class and had a confidence in the way geometrics and colors were blended with each other.

Shifts in primary colors were fresh, color blocked dresses popped, a swimsuit in bold stripes, red and navy on top, green and navy on bottom were audacious. The sporty lady looks were mostly sleek, structured coats, suits, and dresses in bright white and brighter solids (red, green, canary yellow).

At night it all got quiet with a trio of classy, sexy black crepe gowns with tastefully done cut outs.
This is a collection that was clean and polished and had a nice twist to what classic and modern American sportwear and only Michael Kors can do it well.

Michael Kors

Spring/Summer

2013

Zac Posen Spring 2013 is a Sunday Kind of Love.

A fantastical collection for spring! The lights dimmed at Avery Fisher Hall terrace and Etta James' "Sunday Kind of Love" started to play and created a romantic mood in the air. The collection presentation for spring by Zac Posen begins.

Several looks displayed this romanticism which began with pretty day dresses such as a muted floral silk and chiffon one and a pleated rose-print style cinched at the waist. Posen continues the rose inspiration in a beautiful embroidery on a navy bustier worn with a long satin skirt.

In the past Posen would get carried away, but this time he really reigned it in and did keep things a bit light. His more elaborate gowns were a feast for the eyes and displayed an extravagance of modern elegance. There were just a couple of gowns that leaned more on a too extravagant side. The finale tiered ballgown worn by Coco Rocha was one of those that were one of them yet it was beautifully designed and constructed.

Zac Posen has a great eye for smart draping and sharp construction and he is great in creating silhouettes that exude power, sensuality, elegance and modern class.  Overall the designs were impeccable and I am certain that spring welcomes his entire collection with open arms!

Zac Posen

Spring

2013

Alexander Wang's Dynamic Spring/Summer 2013 Collection.

An energetic spring collection that is sportswear on steroids. The line up was sophisticated, tasteful, powerful and relaxed. Alexander Wang is a dynamic designer who never runs out of ideas which are always in motion and get to be expressed with a passionate energy. 

This minimalist sport collection had "hockey jerseys" worn over tailored shorts that came in skinny or bermuda styles. Wang created the collection mostly in black and white. There were some shots of beige leather and grays. The silhouette was more spare and crisp, in stark cotton and exotics, such as karung snakeskin, than previous iterations yet nothing was plain.

Wang said that austerity was a focus when it came to structure and volume. He played with the idea of suspension and tension through embroidery techniques. Garments were sliced up and tacked back together with a fishing-line type of thread, creating bare strips. Precise pieces of fabrics were cut and sewn into the shape of a croc spine down the back of a shirt, which Wang likened to a graphic eyelet effect. One of the most interesting treatments was the bugle bead embroidery done on the vertical, in a pattern that imitated crocodile skin in 3-D.

There were boyish cuts charged with a racy undercurrent. The sexual energy was turned up high with curvy dresses such as the silver embroidered V-neck dress with a slit up each thigh. Shoes were banded up to the knee tying in with the suspension-dissection motif.

The finale was presented with nine models, all acid blonde dressed in ivory variations of looks that have already been shown. They took their places on the cement runway. The lights went down and the clothes which were glow in the dark, lit up.
This is Alexander Wang in his element. He continues to dazzle and is notably a darling in New York's fashion world with his creative abilities. Keep it going, Alexander!

Alexander Wang

Spring/Summer

2013

A Touch of Carolina Herrera for Spring 2013.

Carolina Herrera expressed "lightness" and "fluidity," the buzzwords in her spring show notes. There was a concentration on slim silhouettes with some light and fluid fabrics like chiffon, organza, tulle, organza and georgette, which all achieved her goal.

An ivory crepe halter dress with a cowl neckline and a white gown column gown done in tonal jacquards with a caped shoulder were a couple of examples of simplicity which was one of the element in the collection. They were quite light and beautiful.

There was a variation of an abstract print in some strange combinations of pastels with flashes of orange and black. There were also some odd pairings of polished jackets and flounced silk shorts. These clothes seem to be a bit confusing because they were not going hand in hand with Herrera's breezy designs which were elegant. These were pin tucked and embroidered.

Some results were lace shirt dresses, sheer and cut below the knee, and some white numbers with great touches of gold embellishments.

Although this collection had a bit of a confusing moments, Carolina Herrera always has the touch of elegance in all her designs. It is always a pleasure to witness and enjoy.

Carolina Herrera

Spring/Summer

2013

Donna Karan Spring 2013 is Irresistible.

Donna Karan created a breathtaking collection for this spring season. This was a turn around from the men's wear tailoring for fall. This time the romantic Donna was a real treat with mesmerizing colors cold-dyed to feign nature
Her exquisite pieces in muted hues set the tone. The folded jackets over full skirts, and empire silhouettes, such as the oyster linen and jersey dress and jacket that opened the show were some examples. It was all beautiful as everything else that followed.

Karan played with volume via construction. A gorgeous transparent georgette dress almost cascaded down from a stricter jersey bralike top.
Evening was stunning. Karan draped several beautiful dresses. There was a sea foam embroidered and sequined dress that just floated by like an under water creature. All so elegantly rendered.

This collection served to mask Karan's perfect sense of control. So sublime was it that almost every piece was elaborately constructed, draped, tiered and tweaked and gave an overall effect that remained poetically beautiful. Donna Karan still remains a great American designer who really knows how to design for any woman. How can any woman not resist??

Donna Karan 

Spring/Summer

2013

Vera Wang Spring/Summer 2013 is Fresh with Colorful Touches.

Vera Wang has been making sure that her natural aesthetic, which is artistic, is more commercially savvy. She did a wonderful job in doing so. For this spring she looked at India for inspiration and the result was beautiful. White, moody colors and some rich embellishments were added to create stunners.

The body conscious silhouette that Wang was committed to was kept interesting and had a freshness that was on the cusp of eccentric.

Wang started the show with whites, that included curvy jackets over voluminous skirts incorporating intricate tonal soutache treatments. This was indeed refreshing but once the colors came out it lifted Wang up some more.

The wonderful deep blue, purple and dark green had a certain mystery. The short, off the shoulder dresses with bell sleeves were very charming and the lace sheaths with intensely jeweled medallions at the waist were magnificent.
What Vera Wang is capable of is that she is versatile and always coming up with designs that are extremely fresh and modern and most of all super elegant. That is the Vera Wang stamp.

Vera Wang 

Spring/Summer

2013

An 'Orlando' flair by Altuzarra for Spring 2013.

Joseph Altuzarra  knew that the stakes were high this time around. What he came up for this spring 2013 season was a fine collection that was sophisticated, full of form fitting shapes, strong with draping and embroidery that had a great Parisian flair.

Altuzarra was inspired by the movie "Orlando." Its hero, in a quest for eternal youth, travels through British history, existing as both a man and a woman for centuries. He picked up on the traveling gender crossing spirit from the first few men's wear-inspired looks. a rail-road stripe cotton coat with arm vents with a contrasting pencil skirt, and a striped patchwork dress that seemed, as he put it "a little Oshkoshy."
Altazurra created fabulous harem pants with reworked Art Deco prints and mixed them with other fabrics, such as in a slim dress with a shirt top and a patterned skirt. Their were some great exotic touches that is Morrocan with gold fringe spiraling around skirts.

The finale of the elaborately draped, embroidered and fringed scarf dresses were knock outs.
The collection was young, modern and elegant with details and touches that were unique and chic which all showed what Altuzarra is capable of.

Altuzarra

Spring/Summer

2013

A Princess Inspiration by Diane Von Furstenburg for Spring/Summer 2013

You can always count on Diane von Furstenberg to design clothes that will make a woman feel sexy, feminine and elegant. We all know when von Furstenberg's story began as a princess. "I became a princess, then it was on to Rome to Marrakesh to Jaipur - to all of that." The princess moment in her life served as this season's inspiration for her collection which involved many pretty colors, bold prints and a great amount of embellishment.

Working with creative director Yvan Mispelaere, she layered several dresses over pants, including a draped one-shoulder version with trousers in the same colorful print, and linear navy halter dress over fluid orange pants. An example of her many adorned pieces is a suit with a top in little metal spheres. Glamorous were the draped blouses with billowing sleeves and palazzo pants. "She is a rebel princess who dresses up, but at the same time she can't wait to sneak out clubbing," von Furstenberg said.
That sounds like her back n the day as a princess. Good for you Diane!

Diane von Fursteberg

Spring/Summer

2013