For more fashion week coverage, visit InsidetheTents.com
September 23, 2009
Nine West on the Runways
I don’t know about you, but when I see a runway show, I tend to gravitate toward the footwear, and wonder if it’s the designer’s own, a collaboration, or on loan for the show. I recently found out that Nine West provided the footwear for the Project Runway’s Jillian Lewis, Bensoni, Timo Weiland and Untitled 11:11 shows, and naturally I loved all of the shoes before learning this! Take a look at the footwear below, and the best part? Although they were on the runway, they’re completely affordable!
At Jillian Lewis:
The LOLLIPOP, $89, in stores now & available soon online
The COUNT, $89
At BENSONI:
The NORBU, in stores only
At Untitled 11:11
ALEKSANDER, $79.99
At Timo Weiland
TESIA, $89.99
September 23, 2009
Norma Kamali: The Democracy of Fashion
It was the last day of fashion week, with the exhaustion and burnout from the last eight days already taking a toll on me, but there was no way I would skip Norma Kamali’s fashion week presentation! It was done in two parts — the first part was a 25 minute presentation at the Apple Store in SoHo, in which Kamali explained and demo’ed some of the innovations she’s incorporated into her business, from the “try before you buy” model with customers now using Skype, the Roiworld game, the more on-trend ebay-exclusive collection, to the Norma Kamali iPhone application where one can fashion an outfit and then buy the actual items at Walmart.com. Normal Kamali has always been way way ahead of the curve, and is so modest that I don’t think a lot of fashion devotees even know to attribute her with many of her amazing contributions to fashion.
I give her so much credit for designing in her own style and executing the Wal-Mart collection, which now includes a $24 all in one dress, and she announced that for winter a $35 sleeping bag coat is on the way. The invite to the event was titled “the democracy of fashion” and in Kamali’s case, this really does ring true in everything that she does, from make really good fashion affordable for all, to her re-appropriating of materials such as parachutes, sleeping bags, and jersey fabrics into fantastical yet functional new creations. The second part of the presentation involved a lineup from Kamali’s new collection for ebay, her OMO (on my own) collection found in her store, and the Wal-Mart collection. Most of the collections were interspersed, and the only distinguishing factor to tell which was which was the signs the models were holding. Despite the rain and the last day of fashion week mayhem, Norma Kamali is always worth paying attention to, because what she’s doing now, will eventually set the pace for many other designers to follow in the near future.
-Julia DiNardo
September 21, 2009
Celestino by Sergio Guadarrama Spring 2010 Collection
[Kayne West’s girlfriend Amber Rose modeled some of the looks]
Sergio Guadarrama’s collection offered an evocative amalgam of styles, materials and colors for the spring 2010 season. Blending a certain glamour of ‘days gone by’ (in part through his use of color – a wash of pale yellows and grays, as well as turquoise and pink, conjuring up the sepia tones of an antique photo) with that of sophisticated contemporary high fashion, the collection intermingled shiny satins and silks with lace and wool to produce a result which was at once beautiful and accessible. Wearable items ranged from business to nightlife, managing at once to be both sexy and stylish. Although the collection emphasized the empire and high-waist style in fitted cocktail dresses and flowing evening dresses, as well as in pants, it managed to maintain a sense of freshness and variety nonetheless.
-Chelsea Guy-Frank
