New York Fashion Week:Day 1

All the fashion elite were hustling to New York last week for the start of Fashion Week. I know its now the 14th and it started on the 8th and I'm a bit behind with the reviewing! Sorry Anna Wintour, I know you would be giving me evils right now. Anyway so instead of going through every designer that showed I will give you a sneak peek into the highlights and the stuff I thought that was worth mentioning. Plus I don't have a decade free to go through every designer! I don't know how the fashionistas do it. It's a busy month in fashion. First New York, then London (the best of course!),then Milan and finally Paris! No wonder Anna Wintour is always seen in sunglasses,she must have bags the size of balloons under her eyes* from all that running around and in four inch heels too. My hero.

So New York Fashion Week kicked off with a Ready to Wear collection by Nicholas K. Just to clarify it is not a collection from Nicholas Kirkwood and he hasn't changed his name to sound more hip like P Diddy does every five seconds. If that's even still his name. It was a collection by a New York design company called Nicholas K that was set up by siblings Nicholas and Christopher Kunz. Its easy to tell who won the heads or tails on the name.
So to their collection. Yeah not really my thing, it was full of oversized layering for all seasons. I mean, summer is for showing off that booty that you have been toning up since autumn for summer right? A lot of the collection was made from linen, cotton and jersey to make the clothes appear light, but it did include some leather and fine knits. The 70s were back with tye dye appearing and some faded puddle prints. The colours were mainly monochrome and earthy colours consisting of White, Khaki, Ash,Teal and Misty Blue. Sadly, not really good for us pale English Roses.


Day 1 continued with colour block dresses, geometric designs,tribal patterns and high slits from BCBG Maz Azria Ready to Wear. Richard Chai incorparated  lively colours,futuristic patterns and put a feminine twist on his trademark grunge looks.Some of the models were wearing coloured lipsticks such as blue and purple,they are obviously taking inspiration from me here ;-). Duckie Brown (Mens) consisted of loose fit trousers and shirts,earthy colours and a pale blue.

Kimberly Ovitz's collection was inspired by the Japanese Earthquake. The designer explored the concept of "Disaster versus relief and man versus nature." The clothes were very sheer and lightweight-one of them was made from Japanese paper. The colour pallette was mainly white and orangey colours. Don't worry I'm not gonna quote a Dulux paint list to you with muted butternut and blood orange. There was also a volcanic print as part of the collection. I particularly like a black dress cut above the knee which I think is sheer polyester, with an orange volcano print on. The back of the dress flows down with extra black sheer poly material on the back beautifully flowing down. This collection is a great tribute to the people affected by the Japanese Earthquake and its nice to see fashion supporting such a great cause. And you thought they were all selfish bulldogs.

M. Patamos's collection was a very eco friendly collection with seamless 'zero waste sweaters and earthy colours. Patamos's motto is 'Saving the environment one string at a time'. At Kevork Kiledjian there was amazingly tailored leather, tiny bustier dresses,lots of skin,lace,khaki green and flower prints.

I have picked three designers to talk about more in depthly ie. ramble on about how much a dress would look so good in my wardrobe. Cushine Et Ochs-Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs created a gorgeous collection. Incorparated were their gorgeous body-con dresses, but given some edge and some amazing tailoring to create some gorgeous silhouettes. There was a Barbie theme to the collection with candy colours such as Bubblegum and Canary Yellow.There was also a 50's housewife stereotype feel to the collection with full circled skirts bouncing beneath sharp-cut blazers or a full skirted dress with a tight fitting top. There was also an edge to the clothes with monochrome tones and stiff ruffles attached to the waistline(peplum) and leather. Part of the collection were button-fronts,long slim blazers, sheath dresses (dresses designed to fit to the body) and cropped skinny trousers.There was some more great tailoring with center skirt slits, angular sweetheart and keyhole necklines and meticulous cutouts. This is definitely a brand to watch. Cushnie Et Ochs have really upped their game with this collection adding an edgy-sexy look to their usual designs. If housewives did dress like that, I wouldn't mind having to cook pies all day.



Another collection I wanted to mention is a collection by Wes Gordon. Wes wanted to appeal to the younger girl and mix day and cocktail together. The collection was full of muted snake skin prints and colours, but there was still a hint of summer to them. There was a mixture of high waisted flowing trousers and coloured cigarette trousers made out of luxurious fabrics. There was a beautiful beaded shift dress, a gorgeous terracotta halter-neck dress that beautifully flowed to the ground and a gorgeous floor length deep blue satin full skirt with white stripes on. Absolutely stunning. I really liked the black cigarette trouser look with a lace top and a yellow ribbon tied at the waist. I also loved the terracotta printed floor length jumpsuit that was tied at the waist with a black ribbon. Father Christmas is you are listening, I'd like to put that on my list please!
Wes also included his first shoe collection. He collaborated with Manolo Blahnik a.k.a one of the eternal shoe gods and made some beautiful glitter,green,yellow and white striped Mary Jane heels and ankle straped heeled sandals tied with primary coloured ribbons. Come on, it was obvious it was going to be a gorgeous collection,what with the help from the devine being, Manolo Blahnik. Overall this was a gorgeous collection with some well structured pieces in. Wes only started showing last year,so he is pretty new to the catwalk scene, but you can't tell this from the quality of the designs. I'm sure Wes will go on to do some more fabulous collections and we will be hearing a lot more from him. Plus he will be going on my to dream about list!

Finally the last collection I wanted to talk about is Tara Subkoff's imitation of Christ. The show was set up as a wedding procession, with models dressing as bridesmaids and groomsman wearing suits. The look was a dressed-up depression-era style, with many aspects of the dresses from that time incorporated. There were lots of pastel lace bias-cut dresses, (dresses cut across the grain of the fabric,to make dresses hang more gracefully)drop-waist chiffons decorated with floral patterns and floral patchwork and some flapper looks. Some of the dresses were updated with patchwork, chiffon decorations,applique and embroidery of flowers and birds.

However,some of the dresses looked like they were made from scratch.The designer said she wanted to get back to handwork and that hundreds of hours went into the dresses. This wasn't just a fashion show though,it was an actual wedding. Yes,folks the new way to get married is during a fashion show.  Model and Actress Lydia Hearst got married in front of the audience. At first some of the audience weren't actually sure if it was a real wedding or not, so congratulations to her and her partner. Boy that is one seriously cool way to get married! As well as the marriage, the clothes were beautiful and I unlike some other reviewers like the handmade sewing aspect to it. It made the clothes seem less commercialised and more like an amazing garment to treasure that took hours hours to make. So wedding's in fashion show's,how long will it take for that idea to be snapped up by someone? I can't really see any old person getting married in the middle of a Chanel fashion show can you? I don't think the head of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld would be too pleased. More gorgeous pictures of the wedding fashion show can be found here: Imitation Fashion Show. Who doesn't like to look at wedding pictures? But I must warn you,there are no bridesmaids with rediculously ugly dresses on, making the pictures look bad so the bride looks better. It wasn't that kind of wedding.
So there you have it. Day 1 of what is going to be and has been a very exciting week, so check back here for more info on the best of the rest of the week. If you want more check out Vogue Fashion Shows 2012 and Youtube-Mercedes Benz Fashion Week videos.

P.S.Because I'm so lovely to you all, I have come across some lovely vouchers for you shopping obsessed. Just put me in a magic lamp and call me the voucher genie! I think I'd look good with a turban,maybe not the moustache though.
Asos: Have given us a 20% off discount to celebrate London fashion week. The code is HAPPYLFW. Enjoy everyone,I'm finding it very hard not to go on the Asos website and use it!
Dorothy Perkins: A fabulous 25% off everything, yes ladies and gentleman everything! The code is:DPVIPD. It lasts from last Sunday (the 11th) to Sunday the 18th. Enjoy everyone,again I'm finding it very hard to resist!
La Senza: Not a code but they are offering an internet exclusive!! £2 bras for £20. So go on ladies, buy buy buy!
Debenhams: 15% off fashion and home. Code is PEWP. You can also get 5% off  beauty and fragrance and some electricals. Code is PEZP. Both expire Friday, so be quick!
New Look: 15%off. Code is NLVCTP, expires Sunday the 18th. They have some lovely new blouses in, so be sure to check them out!
BHS: £5 off £25 or £10 off £50. £5 code is SEPTEMBER111. £10 code is SEPTEMBER 112. Codes expire 1st Oct 2011. Also if you spend over £30 you get free delivery.
InStyle magazine have a lot of vouchers including ones from £10 off £25 at Warehouse, £10 off Reiss dresses and £10 off £30 at Urban Outfitters. On sale until 5th October 2011.
Body Shop:15% off until the 31st December. Code is VC15. Get some lovely bubble bath for those cold winter nights and you can get all your christmas presents there at a discounted price, so there is more money for you to spend on that dress that you really need! Result!
You can also get money off vouchers by subscribing to H&M's newsletter, Wallis's newsletter and Dortohy Perkin's newsletter.
Jaycott's: For all you sewing lovers, they are offering 40% off Butterick patterns, ending tomorrow at midnight and half price Simplicity Sew Simple and Sew Easy patterns.Expires September 17th. They also have some great offers on Janome sewing machines. So everyone get sewing now! Right, I am off to buy some patterns. Hey, patterns don't exactly count as clothes, so I can buy them on my shopping detox right?
Enjoy all these scrummy vouchers! Remember every purchase can be justified, but maybe don't tell the bank manager that you spent a whole month's salary on clothes, due to feeling a little down that Mr sun has not greeted us with his presence recently. They just won't understand!
*Oh and Anna Wintour if you are reading this, which I highly doubt you are, I'm sure you don't really have bags the size of balloons under your eyes. In case you do though,try some cucumber on them it works wonders.
Second Hand Rose
XxxX