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Photo: Willow wood shoes (2004), Photo by Rasbak
Licenced under GNU Free Documentation License
via Wikimedia Commons
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I am not at all an expert, so please excuse the inaccuracies and see the following strictly as an impromptu outsider's snapshot of some of New York Fashion Week's shows:
1. ON Wednesday John Patrick was one of the first to show his collection with his "Organic" line, which appropriately enough given the name is environmentally friendly in its design.
According to the Vogue critic its theme was the safari, and given the chin-strapped hat and the spare lines of the trench coats and shirts as well as the brown, black and white shades, it was not too difficult to see. The make-up was light and suited to the heat of day, not only on the Kalahari but also on the streets of New York during the worse stretches of summer heat; the hairstyles were natural-looking and simple, loose or tucked back into a bun.
The garments were a neat collection of wardrobe basics: dress shirt, slacks, simple white dress, sweater, T shirt, shorts, hoodie, crop top jacket, camisole, trench and minidress.
I liked the colour when it came: the dark bright wine red, the plum colour of the camisole and the bits of yellow, and the browns were beautiful intense chocolate. The tasteful clutches and purse were that colour, and so were the handles of a roomy canvassy white weekender bag.
While the Vogue interviewer was not overwhelmed and said that "the almost exclusively white-and-brown palette looked a little like a blank canvas just waiting to be washed in color," I think it is too harsh an assessment. What my inexpert quibble was, that lighter-coloured stitching against dark fabric backgrounds does not look very solid or elegant, and the crinkly fabrics looked intransigent both for those who sew with them and those who wear them.
The rarest outfit, I thought, was a transparent white latticed dress with a crossed sash at the waist, though I disapproved of the flap down the back on its own aesthetic demerits and because of an irrational horror of its "mullet dress" relations.
There were four women of colour among the models by my quite politically incorrect count.
"Review - Organic by John Patrick" [Vogue USA] by Emily Holt (September 2011)
Slideshow: "Organic by John Patrick" [Vogue] Photos by Marcio Madeira (September 2011)
2. VENA Cava brought to life a clear sixties theme, with bright blocks of colour (tangerine, saffron, crimson, etc., contrasted cheerfully to solid black) and long, elegant silhouettes; the models wore huge round sunglasses and platform heels with their hair pulled back and particularly with the sunburnt dark blush at the cheeks gave a very summery impression. There were homages to Chanel, I thought, with the more formal jackets and minidresses, with their ribbed edges and analytically marked sections and clear cuts.
Or, according to the Vogue review, this clothing is in fact inspired by Vietnam, the designers' (Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock) early Brooklynite fashion-making excursions, and slightly by 1940s films. The dresses were worn at a party instead of being presented through the customary formal parade in single file or a Birds-esque mannequin assembly. I like the bold colours, at any rate, and except if I am mistaken in the designer remember being infuriated a couple of years past by what I thought was a wash of weakly neutral tinges on rather limp fabrics.
It's hard to tell because of the sunglasses, but I think that there are two models of colour in these photos:
Slideshow: "Vena Cava" [Vogue] Photos courtesy of Vena Cava (September 2011)
"Review - Vena Cava Spring 2012" [Vogue], by Chioma Nnadi
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THERE are further slideshows and reviews of shows available at Style.com. I'm not covering all of these for fear that this would drive me mad.
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