Mathieu Mirano caught my attention last year with a collection that was memorably amazing. This season with a keen interest in science and a fascination with the contrasts between organic matter and metals, he took his fall 2013 collection into another world. Even the invitations came in the form of a petri dish.
Designs glowed with beautiful embellishments at Carolina Herrera, flowing silk dresses, fresh two-piece sets prints, and a distinct pallet of colors that went from caramels and creams to blues, burgundies and reds.
Subtle hairstyles and makeup, and modern accessories like sunglasses, ties and belts, gave a romantic touch to the creations. The ladylike offering defined one more time the glamorous style that has characterized the fashion designer for more than 30 years.
At Donna Karan’s show I loved the drapey, bias cut dresses that elongate the body, jet black skirts that dance and swirl about the hips. Her eternal suits looked so comfortable. Her tailored jackets came paired with easy, jersey skirts that are free of any kind of boxy, boardroom stiffness. A solution to the urban working woman’s problem.
New York’s runway shows aren’t known for theatrics, fantasy or drama at least not typically. There have been exceptions like Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors and Chado Ralph Rucci. At Thom Browne theatrical set was a winter scene of dead, snow capped trees that stand like prison bars around men in suits who are blindfolded and taped to beds at the wrists and ankles throughout the room. Sandra Bernhard was in attendance.
Known for their hard-edged clothes with sex appeal, Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco of Kaufmanfranco presented their nine-year-old line on the runway for the first time. There were plenty of body-con numbers to please fans, the understated, collection also consisted of high texture and layers, such as the pair of fantastic “patrolman parkas” with fur trim and the slim-fit cropped jackets, which looked cool over miniskirts or skinny pants.
Next and finally for me (or so I thought) was Reem Acra who I adore and respect so much, as a designer, a woman and of course an artist. Acra's aesthetic is nothing if not glamorous, and she amped up the glitz with a red and ombré goat-hair coat and plenty of beaded gowns in a restrained palette of black, white, and red. Of course there were a few Oscar-worthy stunners, including an ivory column dress with black floral embroidery and a black bugle bead gown paired with fishnet gloves. Traditional Japanese embroidery inspired the intricate red floral handwork on several dresses and gowns, along with a black cashmere bomber jacket featuring red and white floral appliqués.
The designer used fishnet several different ways, It's hard to use fishnet without it looking trashy. Yet for Fall, Reem Acra managed to incorporate the material into nearly every look without once turning down a sordid path. The Japanese inspired collection came from a trip the designer took to the magical land.
News came to me via an email on my iPhone and my friend and founder of the Red Carpet Fashion Awards confirmed that The Marc by Marc Jacobs show time and venue had changed to 8pm at Lincoln Center. I wasn't planning to attend but since it was on site and I happen to prefer this line over the regular MJ collection so I stayed.
Boy was it a fun show.
The looks were perfectly neat and put-together in a mix of tailored separates that came in retro, seventies silhouettes and pretty dresses that would seem outright prim if it weren’t for their trippy graphic prints also the good wardrobe additions that seemed for college seniors preparing for their first big internship interview in the city.
Day 5 was not surprisingly amazing!
XoGV
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