MBFW Day 1: No Wow! But Reason for Optimism

HEAD’S UP: Can you believe it's Fashion Week already? That respite between September and February seems very short, especially since press registration notices started arriving during the crush of the holiday shopping season. In any case, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York has returned for the Fall 2012 edition. At VEVLYN'S PEN, we are going to do things slightly different this season. I still endeavor to provide a roundup of the best, worst and most interesting Yours Truly witnesses, from trends to sightings to the rather unusual/bizarre.

The change will be most apparent in show coverage. Where before I was doing a sort of "best of," I will tweak that this season and focus on what truly inspires me. Why the change? Simply put, I have grown weary of watching far too many collections that lack imagination because too much attention has been paid to the bottomline. If nothing inspires me, I will tell you so and tell you why. Let the games begin ...

Day 1
(SOME of the players at the tents and elsewhere): BCBG Max Azria, Candela, Carlos Luna, Chadwick Bell, Honor, House of James Troisi, Jet Set Collective, Joseph Abboud, Kaelen, Kate Gallagher, Megla M, Nicholas K, Pamela Quinzi, Tadashi Shoji, Teresa Rosati, Vassilis Zoulias, Yuna Yang

“I want to see something that will make me go, Oh my God – with a pause – Oh. My. God,” a Boston acquaintance asserts with the enthusiasm of someone who has figured out precisely what is missing from the spaghetti sauce.

The Fall 2012 Nicholas K collection sometimes channels the Wild West. Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images.

At the time of this epiphany last night, we are milling about the lobby of The Shops at The Plaza watching Yuna Yang’s intermittent presentation in progress. The remarks of this boutique owner, an exquisite lady of a certain age, are informed by the fact that she is back in the bosom of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York for the first time in an age. (She spoke wistfully of the era when the incomparable Naomi Campbell ruled the runways). “The models make the clothes,” declared she.

Acquaintance is also being rather loquacious because there are no OMG! moments at YY, though a couple of looks merit trifling recognition w/caveats. A moss green gown with draping at the bodice, perhaps representing the fairytale sphere of the fairytale/real world/androgynous triangle the designer seeks to evoke in a collection inspired by Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own,” has promise. It can benefit from a re-do in something other than Japanese tensile jersey and relief from that interfering white or silver lining. My attention is drawn to a shirt dress in electric blue for no other reason that the color is rather brilliant in bright sort of way.

Whereas Acquaintance wants OMG!, Yours Truly will settle for the lesser superlative, Wow!

The first day of MBFW lacked any Wow! moments but as I alluded yesterday (http://www.bit.ly/wchnAD), Nicholas K is back in the saddle after taking a spill in September with a rather lethargic, white-heavy collection. (See video above).

For Fall 2012, BCBG Max Azria seems disconcertingly familiar. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

Designer Nicholas Kunz does not state her inspiration, however, it is clear that she is taking cues from the Wild West. The cowboy hats, fringe and maxi coats are obvious touchstones. Here, too, is some Asian influence, most notably represented by deconstructed jackets, as well as the asymmetrical mohair jackets that whisper of Mongolia. Hints of the Flapper period also pop up, the biggest clue being pin-thin, bedazzled fringe.

Not to complicate matters too much, a number of men’s jackets are constructed to the point that their wearer would be permitted to dine in certain fine establishments. And what of those eye-catching shell-like necklaces for women?

Whatever the influences, they are combined and the effect is mostly pretty darn cool. Witness for women, the black asymmetrical leather jacket w/lazy collar and leather fringe at hem. It is worn over black leather skinny pants and worn under a mohair shrug with leather fringe. Atypical for the Nicholas K man but retaining the quotient cool is the constructed jacket and pant in gray, accompanied by gray shirt and gray outwear jacket (w/sleeves scrunched up) topped off by a black cowboy hat.

In a collection of 54 looks, most composed of at least three pieces, there are bound to be a few that don’t compute. I give you the Maya dress in teal with draping at bodice and hips along with the gray, fringed flapper dress, suggesting that the designer is out of her comfort zone with one-piece affairs. Meanwhile for men, the black jacket, gray cableknit sweater and gray two-tone haremlike pants ensem a tad pedestrian. Alas, it ain't got that swing.

Megla M. combines two loves into one garment. Photo courtesy of Megla M.

What else can be said of Day 1? Let’s see Tadashi Shoji showed a competent, yet unremarkable evening wear collection. Gotta love Max and one does. Alas, it looks like designer Azria called in the Fall 2012 BCBG Max Azria collection from his villa on the Italian Riviera (or some similarly swanky locale). It is a continuation of Spring 2012 (or is retread the word?) done in hues more muted with the addition of fur hideous.

Megla M designer Stamatia Megla combines her love of both fashion and theater to spawn two quilted kimono-style gowns w/bustles that show promise as does an insouciant black quilted bubble top with dolman-sleeves. The London-based, Greek-born designer makes her U.S. debut with the caption collection. Another on the NOLCHA Fashion Week 2012 bill with MM at the Alvin Ailey Dance Studios was Vassilis Zoulias who proves that he has hattitude and therefore one day will design hats that will be the envy of Ascot.

Tadashi Shoji & Joseph Abboud

Photos by Frazer Harrison and Joe Kohen/Getty Images.

Richard Chai & Chadwick Bell
Photos by Mike Coppola and Mark Von Holden/Getty Images.

On deck today, Day 2: Academy of Art University, Ann Yee, Anne Bowen, Billy Reid, Brandon Son, Charlotte Ronson, Cushnie et Ochs, Doo.Ri, Emilio Sosa, The Greenshows - Collection Previews, General Idea, Gregory Parkinson, Helmut Lang, Jason Wu, Jen Kao, Katya Leonovich, NAHM, Nautica, Nicole Miller, Parkchoonmoo, Peter Som, Rag & Bone, Rebecca Minkoff, Rebecca Taylor, Rubin&Chapelle, St. John, Suno, Tess Giberson, Tommy Hilfiger Men's, Yigal Azrouel

Visit http://http://www.mbfashionweek.com/ to learn more about Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, including show information and videos; visit http://www.nolchafashionweek.com/ to learn more about NOLCHA Fashion Week 2012.

Day 1 NYFW: This Joint Is Not Jumpin'

Pale pink chiffon dress with floral appliques and pleats on the bodice from the Tadashi Shoji Spring 2012 collection. Photo by Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images.

HEAD’S UP: I repeat, it is officially a tradition at VEVLYN’S PEN. The plan each day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is to give a roundup of the best (and worse where applicable) and most interesting Yours Truly witnesses, from shows to trends to sightings to the rather unusual/bizarre. It should go without saying, but it shan’t – this won’t be a comprehensive list simply because a body can’t be everywhere. But, of course, depend on one’s best effort. Drum roll, please …

Day 1
(SOME of the players at the tents and elsewhere): Nicholas K, Porter Grey, BCBG Max Azria, Richard Chai, Supima, Catherine Malandrino, Tadashi Shoji, Francis Hendy, Candela)

The first day of Fashion Week came in with a whimper. One can only hope that it went out like a lion at dawn after some smashing Fashion’s Night Out party.

One of the more restained looks from the Nicholas K Spring 2012 collection. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images.

It is owing to the sluggish start that the day cannot be interpreted under the usual rubrics of “best overall show,” or “best interpretation of a vision” or even “best spectacle,” though there was such a one at Francis Hendy.

Certainly, it is not that that first day of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week New York Spring 2012 was awful. It is noteworthy in that there were no high points. None. Not one. Yet there is case for the opposite.

Nicholas K got the party started with some fetching white ensems that would do nicely at Diddy’s/P. Diddy’s/Sean Combs’ White Party, for instance. They are clean, fresh, smart and contained. But as the color palette deepened, things became too amorphous. Was there something in the air as this massive collection was being birthed? There is a monotonous slouchiness – and dare the word be uttered – grunginess.

Did he dress in the dark? Did she sleep in her clothes? The label has a reputation for layers, so they are to be expected. Still, yawns are threatening on sighting the seemingly endless combos: jacket, two shirts-tops, cropped pants for men/jacket, two shirts-tops or dress over cropped leggings for women. For Spring 2012 designers Nicholas and Christopher Kunz show too little restraint, making a body wistful for more construction, less asymmetry and more simplicity.

In probably the most successful collection of the day, BCBG Max Azria seemed like a kid with a new toy. In this case, it is color blocking and print blocking. Consisting of corals, blues, yellow, grays and whites, the collection of mostly dresses brought to mind a triptych. Panels abound and appear to be telling a story. Pleats, cutouts and asymmetry deepen the plot. Still, it is merely competent – par – when one is in a mood for more.

BCBG Max Azria Spring 2012 is heavy on color- and print-blocking and flirty shapes. Photo by Peter Michael Dills/Getty Images.

Competent. The term applies to Tadashi Shoji, too. The gowns are appropriately diaphanous; the dresses appropriately fetching. Utterly wearable, utterly accessible, utterly commercial – eager (EAGER) to please . The collection is like the mate most parents wish for their children: respectable, dependable, safe, good provider (for men). Good qualities all. But a little less talk and little more action, please.

Alas, Candela and Porter Grey aren’t fairly bursting with excitement either, though a piece in each collection hues toward swagger. Candela is on to something with the denim beaded shorts. The beads add texture and appeal to what would have otherwise been just another pair of Daisy Dukes. It is beading, too, that take a Porter Grey mini skirt and shift to a different place – Athens or Cairo. What to say of Richard Chai? Sleepy, sluggish, languid, lethargic, BUT the aqua/turquoise lipstick pops.

Meanwhile, Francis Hendy is back (he’d been away?) with a bright, sprightly collection of menswear that pays homage to his homeland, Trinidad. However, most memorable about the show at Samsung in the Time Warner Center in order of importance:
1. In a bit of reverse casting and possibly frustration/anger, FH used mostly African Diaspora models (that is those who would be considered/self-identify as black/African descent only). The rest (based on eye-ball observation): a few white boys, two Blatinos (black/latino), two Asians, one Mediterranean type;

2. The show started later than normal, without preamble. One moment one was talking to her neighbor and the next two guys who look like models are passing in front of her;

3. FH did not come out to be congratulated after the show.

In an otherwise lethargic Richard Chai collection for Spring 2012, the aqua/turquoise lipstick has snap, crackle and pop. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

Absentee or not, FH makes bank with tropical motifs: aqua, pink, coral, florals (sometimes with stripes) in casual wear, suits, dinner/club clothes. The pattern block V-neck shirt with striped diagonal on one side and Missoni-esque scrawl on the other commands the attention.

Finally, in a bit of clever marketing or something more sinister, Catherine Malandrino showed her Fall 2011 collection – the very one she showed in February. It is bohemian chic with luxe undertones. It is also available for purchase now rather than five or six months later. One got a sinking feeling watching the show at Exit Art, though. Is CH Fall 2011 a swan song? (It was announced a few months back that there would be no Spring 2012 collection). The company has been experiencing well-publicized financial woes (the Great Recession) and talks with an expected buyer/investor have not yet panned out …

Here’s to hoping for some excitement today, Day 2 of Fashion Week.

On deck Day 2 NYFW: Billy Reid, Christian Cota, Costello Tagliapietra, Paola Hernandez, Emerson, Falguni & Shane Peacock, Cynthia Rowley, Doo.Ri, Jason Wu, Luca Luca, Mandy Coon, NAHM, Nicole Miller, Peter Som, Rag & Bone, Rebecca Taylor, The Row, Tess Giberson, United Bamboo, Yigal Azrouël

Visit http://www.mbfashionweek.com/ and http://www.youtube.com/liverunway to learn more about Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York and to see live and taped streams of the shows.

NYFW: In a Tradition Now, Nicholas K Gets It Started

An ensemble from the Emerson Spring 2012 collection. Photo by Paul Maffi.

IN a few hours at (9 a.m. or thereabouts), Nicholas K will rule the runway, kickstarting the eight-day relay known as Fashion Week, or more formally, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York Spring 2012. This season marks the first full year at Lincoln Center.

Designers and siblings Nicholas and Christopher Kunz have been mum about Spring 2012 but it is not expected that they will stray from form. That is, smartly deconstructed classic silhouettes for men and women that take to layering, mixing/matching and throwing a nice wrench into a look that wants to be too buttoned down. All is subtle, including the colors.

Others showing today, which is a short one owing to Fashion’s Night Out (http://www.fashionsnightout.com/), include Porter Grey, BCBG Max Azria, Richard Chai, Francis Hendyupima and Catherine Malandrino.

As with every season there are new faces. One for Spring 2012 is the Boston-based Emerson. According to Emerson’s pr, the “collection embodies the powerful and free-spirited modern woman. “

The new face of the entryway into the main tent at Lincoln Center. Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Designer Jackie Fraser-Swan hues toward dichotomy: rock&romance, couture&contemporary, black&white. Dichotomy is part of human nature and even more so for JF-S whose label, Emerson, is taken from both her middle name and that of progenitor Ralph Waldo E.

In things new elsewhere at Fashion Week, the façade at the main tent has been spruced up. And many of the shows this season, including Nicholas K, will be streamed live (http://www.youtube.com/liverunway) …

Visit http://www.mbfashionweek.com/ to learn more about Mercedes-Benz New York.