For Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at the Lincoln Center, Academy of Art University showcased the Fall 2013 collections of up-and-coming student designers on Friday evening. Attendees escaping the snow are ushered in the opening room with a balcony bar where some partook of refreshments before the show and a DJ kept the spirits pumping.
As the lively crowd settled into their seats and hushed in the dimming of the lights, the first model strutted out in a sudden blaze of lights and upbeat music.
Amanda Nervig and Janine Villa’s collection started off the show on the right note. Cheery and chunky knitwear in kaleidoscope patterns and colors reminiscent of a hybrid Missoni. With simple tailored silhouettes they let the textures do the talking.
Yuming Weng’s rippled amorphous detailing on stone and taupe dresses complimented the clean silhouettes.
The show picked up on gorgeous detailing as Teresa Field and James Thai’s collaboration saw designs of mystical creatures burned onto creamy leather that puts one in the mind of soft pencil etchings on white canvas. Leah Aripotch provided the collection with complementary accessories and jewelry. A bronze wrought purse in the figure of a snake put one in mind of battle armor.
Heather Scholl’s models entered with a pop of color unseen before. Models walked out in fuchsia and aqua with makeup to match. Whimsical designs patterned fringed tights and embellished sweaters. Our eyes are tantalized with the mixture of textures.
A different sort of texture came in for Chenxi Li’s luxurious sea of blue, aquamarine, and teal fur coats and bead embellished sweaters. Perfect clothing to battle the coming storm.
The show picked up as the highlight of the night was definitely Heather McDonald. With her mixture of masculine and feminine, technological and organic, dresses with jutting hips and rounded shoulders competed with peek-a-boo lace detailing. It is no surprise her inspiration comes from Fritz Lang’s groundbreaking movie Metropolis.
Qian Xie ended the night on a high note as her steel gray latticed jackets and tops surprised with fur sleeves and buckled necklines.
Additional reporting by Grace Yang
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