Fashion for everyone

A digital print pant and shirt, featuring a photo of garbage from around the twentyten studio.

In terms of design concepts, I'm always interested in taking something ugly, grotesque, or unusual, and making it into something beautiful. For Fall 2011, the twentyten were inspired by something that most people are disgusted by: garbage. Or more poetically, "fictional sunsets over desert landfills," hence the pops of bright orange that show up amongst the detritus adorned garments. The collection includes an awesome digital print made from a photograph of garbage collected from around the design studio, which is shockingly vivid and colorful, and much prettier looking than what you'd find in my trash bin. There are also garbage bag clutches, and one oversized bangle made of melted plastic animal toys. The trio of designers behind the collection, Jeff Dodd, David J. Krause, and Nina Zilka, obviously have approached the concept with a sense of humor and play, demonstrating one person's trash can be transformed into another man's treasure.

A closeup of the garbage print, which was paired with a plastic garbage bag clutch.

A giant bangle made of tiny plastic animals melted together

The presentation for this year's Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner, Study NY, was one of my favorite shows of NYFW. I tend to prefer presentations to runway shows, as it gives you the opportunity to get a prolonged look at the clothes, rather than having them whirl past you before you can properly register exactly what you're seeing. Designer Tara St. James transformed the Standard Hotel Highline Room into an old fashioned school house, complete with chalkboards, school desks, and bright red apples, although the clothes shown were anything but your average back-to-school getups. In fact, the garments gave me plenty to ponder over, or study, I should say.

The line is entirely green, and has adopted some incredibly innovative techniques for remaining eco-friendly. In addition to using standard eco-materials like organic cotton and hemp, St. James also made several gorgeous patchwork jackets out of scraps as a waste recycling project, and created multiple zero-waste garments (no scraps are left behind). Some of the most gorgeous showstoppers were a selection of wrap coats, ponchos, and capes, which were all made from overstock wool. I also loved the chunky hand-knit alpaca cardigans and skirts made by women's knitting co-op Madres & Artesanas, which specializes in handmade production processes. In my opinion, all the thoughtful processes and techniques involved in producing the clothes adds infinite appeal to the gorgeous and earthy designs, and will hopefully set an example for other designers, demonstrating they myriad ways they can make their collections more eco-friendly.

The perfect classic camel coat at Porter Grey

Classic is one of the last words I would use to describe my personal style. Nonetheless the constant stream of unending fashion images has dulled my senses quite a bit, and the flurry of new information has made me crave something more digestible. I'm not going to lie and pretend that I am immune to trends, but there's a point where you just want to tune out all the noise and chatter about what you will be wearing next season, and think about pieces you want to wear every season. I personally have a closet stuffed with party dresses with very little in the way of practical things to wear, and generally eschew "basics." At the shows I came across plenty of updated classics with a twist, pieces that go with everything, but are hardly your basic "basics." Here are some of my favorites from Porter Grey, Jonathan Simkhai, and Kimberly Taylor.

Moto jacket and LBD at Porter Grey

One of my favorite pieces from Jonathan Simkhai: a patchworking of houndstooth and plaids makes for one of the coolest varsity jackets I've ever seen.

I can never get enough of big cozy knits and sweaters, I especially love this one from Jonathan Simkhai

A plain black tee, but in leather, at Jonathan Simkhai

Leather trim updates the white button down shirt at Jonathan Simkhai

Boy meets girl at Kimberly Taylor

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the presentation for the new collaboration between Maison Martin Margiela MM6 and Opening Ceremony. The meeting of two of my all-time-favorite brands was bound to be exciting, and the collection, which was based on the melding of playful and functional element, offers up many garments that are transformable and can be worn up to three different ways. You can view the photos I took of the presentation on Filep Motwary's excellent blog, Un Nouveau Ideal, but here are some additional images from the lookbook, demonstrating the versatility of several of their garments. As you can see, they alternatively have detachable sleeves, linings, and boot attachments, giving the original twenty styles the ability to become an infinite number of silhouettes.

I know I post a lot of dark, semi-gothy stuff on this blog, but believe it or not, I'm really into the whole Disney Princess thing too. Even though Erickson Beamon mostly makes costume jewelry, their pieces are worthy of the finest royals. Their presentation, which was set to the music of a live violinist and opera singer, and modeled by preening ballerinas, had all the trappings of femme fantasy that I secretly adore. Presentation aside, I've been a longtime fan of the jewelry, and the incredibly ornate and complex stoning, knowing how much time-consuming labor is involved in creating such over-the-top pieces. While they use a lot of traditionally costume rhinestones and oversized glass jewels, and have strong historical reference points, what they do with them is entirely unique, and ahead of the curve. For many seasons I've admired their armor like jeweled vests and tops, which make every other bodychain look like Canal Street jank, and for the first time I got to see their baroque masks, which included a piece with metal eyelashes. One of my favorite pieces wasn't jewelry at all--it was a stone-encrusted chandelier, dripping with strands of globular pearls. If I were a real Disney Princess, I would make sure to fill my entire castle with these.

I dream of one day owning an Erikson Beamon chandelier--over-the-top and outrageously stunning.


Ice on ice

Fashion Week has been a blur, and I have plenty of updates and photos to post over the next couple of weeks. I'm sure that everyone who has participated is somewhat relieved that it will be over tomorrow, and we're celebrating with a party at Anchor Bar for our friend Margarita Saplala, and her Fall 2011 collection. Please join us from 10-2 for some drinks and a peek at the new collection, and a tiny break before those of us who work in sales have to start work at all of the trade shows!

Earlier today, Christina was telling me about a documentary she watched about how the world will run out of fuel in the next twenty years, and how society will have to learn how to transition without falling into complete and total chaos and anarchy. This news, combined with all the recent reports of dead bird falling from the sky, is making me feel a bit like Chicken Little. The apocalypse is a whole lot more romantic when it doesn't seem like it's imminently looming at your doorstep. Nonetheless, Frank Tell manages to bring back some of the fantasy associated with a world with no laws and no boundaries. Inspired by movies like Mad Max and La Jetee (one of my favorite films of all time), the designer became interested in the concept of entropy as an agent of change. He made his silhouettes longer, looser, and increasingly distorted, and chose to use rarefied fabrics like lace and chiffon in a raw and distressed fashion. The final result is a lot better looking than I imagine true post-apocalypse to be (which would probably be more akin to the movie Blindness), and my favorite pieces were the shaggy moss green knits that resembled living walls. When The End of Days does come, I hope I will at least be scavenging for food and water while wearing Frank Tell.