MBFW Day 1 More Shots: Has It Really Been 30, Kenneth?

HEAD’S UP: That turnaround between September and February always seems short. One is in the middle of the Yuletide season when the notice arrives about registering for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York! Well, here we are at Fall 2013 and a small change in the VEVLYN’S PEN approach to covering Fashion Week. We will still put emphasis on the truly inspirational on the runway and will only do a “best of” when it suits. We will also continue to endeavor to provide a roundup of the best, worst and most interesting Yours Truly (and others) witnesses, from trends to sightings to the rather unusual/bizarre. Now, for the changes. On some days we will provide a “snapshot” as we did yesterday (http://www.vevlynspen.com/2013/02/mbfw-day-1-snapshot-todd-snyders.html). We will also comment on particular pieces from a collection that capture our imagination. Finally, at VEVLYN’S PEN, coverage may take the form of photos with comments underneath, including whether the picture subject tends toward a trend. How’s that? OK, off we go!

Day 1
(SOME of the players at the tents and elsewhere): AMALEXANDRE PLOKHOV, BAND OF OUTSIDERS, BCBG MAX AZRIA, COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA, CREATURES OF THE WIND, DUCKIE BROWN, EDUN, HOLMES & YANG,KENNETH COLE COLLECTION, KIMBERLY OVITZ, N.HOOLYWOOD, NICHOLAS K, RICHARD CHAI LOVE, SACHIN + BABI, TADASHI SHOJI, TIMO WEILAND, TODD SNYDER

THE first day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is now history.

Yesterday at the tents it seemed that the assembly was holding its collective breath. Why? Not sure. Incidentally, it was very quiet in the lobby area of the tents. Must be the layout. The various sponsors are cubbyholed. Yours Truly thinks it intimate, but a wag with whom I was jawing, derisively compared it to an airport hangar or a room at the Javits Center (http://www.javitscenter.com). Oh, well.

All was sort of quiet on the runways and other model venues, too. The biggest talk was about Kenneth Cole. The designer was to show in the tents but that didn’t come off, because his people and IMG (http://www.imgworld.com), the company that runs MBFW were not on the same page. That I can assert with confidence; the rest … well. Anywho, the designer returns to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his line. Wow, time flies.

Is she too chill for the Arctic? Photo from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

At 30, Kenneth Cole Collection is in a New York state of mind. Indeed, the collection is named Urban Liberation. Fall 2013 is inspired by life in New York City “and finding freedom from the constraints we experience in our daily lives, ” KC said. To fulfill this vision, KC relies heavily on black and gray, as well as elements from the architectural realm. While it should look drab and drawn, it is actually very much alive and relaxed. And tres chic. (See video above; see the show at http://www.kennethcole.com)

One imagines the men and women got up in Kenneth Cole making their way to their offices in Soho or some other really cool corner in the city. The fabrics are lush, rich and look very expensive. However, they are not. This is Kenneth Cole after all – accessible.

It’s a collection to be proud of – worthy of 30. It is self-confident, self-possessed and very serviceable. And oh, KC has always been one on the right side of a cause. He’s doing a lot of work with amfAR these days. Any tweets with the hashtag #kcrunway inspire the designer to donate $1 to amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research (http://www.amfar.org/).

Pretty in pink and sequins at Candela. Photo by Yours Truly.

Elsewhere on Day 1, starter Nicholas K has on the brain the Arctic. If nothing else, one is layered for the odyssey. At Candela, perhaps an homage to fatherhood: “To when the name of father was another name for love.” ???

On Deck today, Day 2: A DÉTACHER, BILLY REID, CARMEN MARC, VALVO, CHADWICK BELL, CHARLOTTE RONSON, CUSHNIE ET OCHS, GREGORY PARKINSON, HELMUT LANG KATE SPADE NEW YORK, KATIE GALLAGHER, KELLY WEARSTLER, JASON WU, JENNI KAYNE, LYN DEVON, NICOLE MILLER, PIERRE BALMAIN, RAG & BONE, REBECCA MINKOFF, SALLY LAPOINTE, ST. JOHN, SUNO, TESS GIBERSON, THE ELDER STATESMAN, TOCCA, TOMMY HILFIGER, TRIBUNE STANDARD, YIGAL AZROUËL

Visit http://www.mbfashionweek.com to learn more about Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, including show information and videos.