New York Fashion Week has finished, but how can us Florida girls sort through all the pictures
and videos to find the gems?
Don’t worry — I’ve done it for you. Check out the best five collections below:
1. 3.1 Phillip Lim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eGZFyrm2nA&feature=channel&list=UL
Phillip Lim’s collection is fun, cool and chic. I adore the floral and flannel prints and the way he
played them up to look more sophisticated and modern. However, he still kept little hints, like
the shirt around the waist, to remind us of vintage flair. Although Lim didn’t use as many trends
as others did, he still incorporated the V-neck and the halter into his designs, and he crafted a
collection I would be overjoyed to have in my closet and purses I would love to have on my arm.
2. Jason Wu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGwUHCNrSFA&feature=plcp
If there’s one word to describe Jason Wu’s collection, it’s structure. Wu seems to be a master at
making women look feminine and elegant without necessarily putting them in an evening dress.
He accomplishes this feat through leather shorts and trousers. Regardless of the toughness that
you might associate with those pieces, they come off as refined and embrace the curves of the
models with a sort of pin-up girl vibe. The sheer dresses mixed with harnesses, the lace mixed
with leather, all works in a way to play with masculine and feminine notions of fashion that come
together to produce an amazing collection that is classy but a little out on the town, too.
3. Marc Jacobs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGQt6KwJsAg&feature=channel&list=UL
As I clicked through the images of this collection, I couldn’t help but shout to myself, “Finally!”
I wasn’t really a fan of his last couple collections or his recent work for Louis Vuitton. Sure, the
pretty pastel lace collection was plastered on every magazine and the big hats are fun to look at,
but they felt a little too costume to me whereas this collection was minimal and wearable without
being boring. I loved the use of the thick stripes on the simple forms and even when it did get
a little crazy with the stripes and the pattern mixing, it was still something that a woman would
conceivably wear. I know others can argue that fashion is supposed to be about having fun and
those big Dr. Seuss hats were a great piece to show how fashion shouldn’t be taken so seriously,
but come on. I’d rather a make a statement looking refined than goofy just to prove a point.
4. Band of Outsiders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSSNGKk03Ok&feature=plcp
Band of Outsiders has become a collection I anticipate every season. This time around, designer
Scott Sternberg surprised and enamored me with the breezy outfits and the effortless mystique
of the models that came down the runway. He was influenced by “The Hunger Games” and by
the inspiration behind the blockbuster, the Japanese film “Battle Royale.” However, the clothes
that came down the runway were what Katniss Everdeen would wear if the battle field were the
upper west side of New York and the task was to out dress all the other people from the gaudy
and tacky districts. The clothes embraced a minimalist vibe, so even when the prints were loud,
the form spoke volumes in simplicity. Sternberg even incorporated the trends that were all over
the runway but managed to make his version of crop tops, deep V-necks and halters stand out and
be memorable among the masses.
5. Derek Lam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy16Deqex04&feature=channel&list=UL
Even though Derek Lam utilized funky and bold prints in his spring 2013 collection, he still
managed to make it look minimal and concise. I loved the mix of textures he used like putting
together a chunky sweater with a metallic skirt or a textured corset with plaid. The whole
collection had a ’90s feel, and one of the best parts about it is it looked wearable! Lam’s collection
was the kind you can imagine seeing women wearing on the way to the shows, and overall, it was
modern with a hint of retro that mixed together to create a funky and maybe even slightly darker
approach to spring time.
What did you think of the NYFW collections?
Photo credits to design42day.com and onsugar.com.