The good, the bad and the indifferent usually come through during New York Fashion Week, This season was no different. NYFW fall/winter 2019 offerings were the usual clash of ideas, some cool and newsworthy. others not so much.
MICHAEL KORS held one of those fun, glitzy shows, that took us “old school” fashionistas back to Studio 54. In reality, Michael did take us to Cipriani’s on Wall Street, but the Studio 54 essence and flavor was everywhere from the lighting, soundtrack and his fun MK Logo-bags shown on the runway. The clothes were suited for fall/winter; a concept that was not embraced by a lot of designers. Michael was right on point with appropriate `warm weather’ fabrics, lush faux-fur scarves, and some great wool coats & jackets. Gigi Hadid opened the show wearing a grey belted blazer over a black and white floral print dress. He followed this look with a paraded practical grey wool coats, lush leather coats, leopard print coats and plaid wool combinations that looked easy and modern. The leather patchwork coat on model Adult Akech was perfectly tailored, and, ideal for a cold fall/winter night. A huge grey tweed winter coat came down the runway, perfectly suited for a blustery winter’s day. The beige monochromatic moment on model Naomi Chin Wing was fall layering at it’s best. For the night, the Kors’ girls are all ready for a party – the shiny mini dresses, the fringed gold mini’s and `disco ball’ dresses looked amazing, alongside Micheal’s frothy florals. Legendary singer Barry Manilow closed out the show with a rendition of “Copacabana” with all of the models dancing on stage.
Michael Kors fall19
TODASHI SHOJI is one of those seasoned, classic designers who always thinks ahead of his time, fashionwise. He’s been doing fabulous garments for women of all sizes, long before it became popular (actress Olivia Spencer). For his fall runway, Tadashi lavished on vibrant fall colors: deep royal blue, purple, violet and black for his elegant column gowns and dresses in velvet. He gave a variety of options with beautiful black lace dresses some sliding off the shoulders. Tadashi’s core was his classic designs, updated with a modern twist. His curvy models were woven into his runway line-up, with the regular sized girls as it should be.
Tadashi Fall19
CHRISTIAN SIRIANO, the Project Runway winner, is another New York designer who’s always embraced and catered to diversity on his runways. This season he showed off comfortable fall clothes. From the stunning opening number on model Chanel Iman to the dramatic finale’ white and silver offering on model Ashley Graham, Siriano was able to capture the concept of a cohesive collection that featured something for everybody. The odd venue for Christian Siriano’s showing was the Rainbow Room, atop Rockefeller Center with 360-degree views of New York City. That fact, plus, some odd seating of guests in this posh, romantic restaurant was not the ideal setting for a runway fashion show as such. I must say, this was very distracting from the beautiful clothes that Christian crafted for Fall.
Ashley Graham in Christian Siriano Fall19
TOMO KOIZUMI. The buzz for New York Fashion Week was this new Japanese designer debut collection, which took place on the `down low’ in the basement of Marc Jacobs’ pop-up store, on Madison Avenue. Word is, Tomo was discovered on Instagram by Marc’s stylist Katie Grand. Make-up and hair legends Pat McGrath and Guido Palau also came on board to enhance Tomo’s line of rainbow-colored polyester organza, big pouf gowns that took up a lot of space, but somehow were dramatic, attractive and great attention getters for red carpet events. What a way for a New York Fashion Week debut.
TOMO KOIZUMI Fall19
CUSHNIE was clearly my favorite show of the season. Carly Cushnie has consistently been a creative manipulator of fine fabrics, and, a master of embracing the female form (even when she showed with her former partner). Now on her own, Cushnie has put the stamp on true feminine style in terms of construction. For fall 2019, Cushnie presented a parade of deep violet, rich burgundy, lavish lavender, navy, and purple all in smooth velvets as her mainstay fabric and color choices. Carly’s clothes were rich and sexy, original and delicate with unique draping and subtle cut-outs at all of the correct places on the body. Like the dynamic `onesuit’ that featured a loose cowl in the back that revealed a daring cut-out. A selection of feminine, pink, perfectly tailored dresses was delightful, as was the sleek lilac coat cinched at the waist. Sensible black fall coats, sharp trousers and a wash of shiny, silvery dresses for evening glam, rounded out the collection. I learned that Cushnie fall 2019 was inspired by Paul Poiret’s 1920s draping and his legendary Japanese silhouette. Carly also drew inspiration from the Japanese art form of a floral arrangement called `Ikebana’ and the geometric folds found in artist Nicola Kloosterman’s Shadowplay Collage Series.
CUSHNIE Fall19
THE BLUE JACKET FASHION SHOW celebrated the third year to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer. Top menswear designers were invited to create a `Blue Jacket’ (or a reasonable facsimile) for a high-profile fashion personality, Doctor, celebrity model, sports star or celebrity, to model on the runway. Comedian Judy Gold served as MC/Host of the show. She thanked the Blue Jacket Fashion Show founders; Frederick Anderson and Laura Miller for making the event a reality. Judy also announced that according to Jonathan W.Simons MD, president & CEO of The Prostate Cancer Foundation, “Our collaboration between The Prostate Cancer Foundation and the fashion industry, has the potential to creatively help millions of men and their families with awareness of the disease that will affect 1 in 9 men in their lifetimes.”
Walking the runway among the 32 models were: SIMON DOONAN Creative Ambassador at Barney’s New York, modeling a garment from ARJONA COLLECTION; DR.MIKE modeled a BEN SHERMAN suit; STEVAN KOLB, president & CEO Council Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), wore JOSEPH ABBOUD; photographer and TV host NIGEL BARKER modeled BROOKS BROS; ballplayer BUSTER SKRINE wore DUCKIE BROWN; actor BILLY PORTER (Pose) was dandy in a THOM BROWNE ensemble and comedian MARIO CANTONE modeled MICHAEL KORS. Among the other designers who participated in the show were: JOHN VARVATOS, POLO RALPH LAUREN, HUGO BOSS, TOMMY HILFIGER, EMPORIO ARMANI, BANANA REPUBLIC, MEN’S WAREHOUSE, TODD SNYDER, NICK GRAHAM, RYAN SEACREST DISTINCTION, BRUNO MAGLI, and LEVI’S.
THE BLUE JACKET FASHION SHOW
`Real Housewives of New York’ favorite ladies: COUNTESS LUANN DE LESSEPS and SONJA MORGAN, took a turn on the runway among the `all men cast’ wearing garments by ANNE FONTAINE.
SON JUNG WAN. This season’s showing of 2019 fall/winter “Romance Returns’ was definitely a miss. The program notes touted the collection, as the designer’s main objective was to explore creative ways to merge the old and the new together to create an entire collection that exemplifies an unprecedented sense of style and beauty. But, Son Jung Wan’s unusual color and fabric mixes did not work. Many of the garments were ill-fitting, some looked like they were weighing the models down because of their excessive accouterments. The mismatched color combinations on her furs looked like bizarre costuming. Out of a gumbo of 42 looks, they was one pink and beige, silk patterned long-sleeved gown that looked good, but it got lost in the sauce.
SON JUNG WAN Fall19
