Archive for February, 2009

Even the off kilter music at the show couldn’t distract me from the gorgeous pieces Thuy sent down the runway model after model.  Compared to some other shows so far, Thuy’s collection was neither envelope pushing nor in any way weird. Even the sky high oxford booties that matched every look seemed safe compared to the crazy shoes at Herve Leger or Akiko Ogawa.  However, fashion should not always be  judged by how avant-garde a collection is- after all, I prefer my ready to wear to be just that (and certainly not to insinuate that the clothes were in any way prosaic). So both my companion Felicia and I were flattered when Thuy Diep sent down pieces that were reminiscent of some clothes from our own closets, feeling that our personal tastes were somehow validated by a designer that talented.

I felt that Thuy’s collection focused predominantly on shape, creating femininity not through flowy fabrics or girly colors but by tailoring her pieces close to the body and  allowing the natural, sensual shape of a woman to carry the look. Many pieces were accessorized by skinny belts that carved out a cinched waist or accented by rusching that pulled the fabric close to the body.  Another focus was texture as I spotted lace, beading, metallics, sequins and even feathery embellishments make its way onto her tops and bottoms.  Even her use of color, bright blues, yellows and a tapestry of green and purples, seemed to push the feel of the fabric- wool or silk- to the forefront.

I look forward to seeing (and hopefully owning!) more of Thuy’s work in the coming seasons. (more…)

Referencing my favorite era of fashion, the Twinkle show held yesterday at the Classic Car Club on Hudson Street, featured a dreamy ‘50s beauty look with soft, wavy hair and a soft orange-red lip: it wasn’t the hard look of your mother’s Mad Men, but a younger, more optimistic and innocent version.

MAC makeup artist, Greg Arlt, stated that the inspiration for the look was a “1950’s, first date going to the drive-in.”  The makeup was designed to look like a “young girl applying makeup for the first time, mimicking the things she had seen her mother do,” but with a lighter and softer hand.  Thus, the curved, dramatic cat eye her mom draws on, was re-interpreted to be a “kitten’s eye,” Greg quipped, with only the slightest of curved lines extending past the lid (more of a suggestion of a cat’s eye than anything) using Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack. (more…)

While the looks certainly were fierce at Akiko Ogawa’s AW09 show, nails were actually surprisingly girly.  Alisha Rimando and her team at Dashing Diva lead the efforts backstage using the brand’s new Manhattan Collection. Alisha created a chic, french with a light pink base and a dark faded pink tip. Step by step instructions are below but you can now also get the look done professionally at Dashing Diva salons! (more…)

I am a total Urban Decay fan.  I love that they have such a wide variety of shades and products, and that you can wear their colors to fancy black tie events or just out and about on a Saturday while you do errands.  So I was really excited when I got the chance to check out their new Spring 2009 collection.  It definitely didn’t disappoint – the shades are bright and fun and totally perfect for the change of season. (more…)

A glance through Akiko Ogawa’s collection history shows that the designer’s taste has increasingly grown more masculine through the seasons.  Contrast her 2006/7 collection of flowy feminine frocks with the geometrically structured shapes and sharp, double breasted blazers that ruled her AW08 show. Her AW09 collection goes even beyond simply masculine inspiration with models literally stomping the runway, and some looks so androgynous that my companion and I wouldn’t have been able to tell the sex had it not been for the tell tale shoes.

And some shoes those were!  Ogawa matched each of her looks to chunky platform wedges reminiscent of Tokyo’s teenage street style of a few years ago.  Though her choice of footwear is more military than bopper and more high fashion than high street, that instantaneous connection had me associating Ogawa’s collection as far more Eastern influenced than those of her Asian colleagues, Jason Wu or Alexander Wang.

The main colors of the collection were white, black, blue and grey, and Ogawa either featured them separately in solid pieces or blended together in ombre tones. Shape was mostly focused on broad tops contrasted with skinny bottoms and an overarching theme of asymmetry.  Though most pieces would not translate well from runway to real way, Ogawa did present a particularly wearable blue halter mini dress (see below) that I am coveting for my own closet. (more…)

Source

Featuring an interplay of textures between silky sateens, leather gloves, and nubby laces, Poleci Fall 2009 presentation, held at their store at 32 Gansevoort, showcased dark, grown up sophistication.  The best looks of the collection highlighted all of these textures together with dark leather gloves, artfully draped skirts,  short sleeve sateen jackets, and chunky necklaces.  Designer Janice Krok showed dexterity with Grecian gathering, which were shown on the most beautiful pieces, almost giving Rami from Project Runway a run for his money.   However, although a particular silk purple floor length dress with gathering was eye catching and lovely, it felt like something I had already seen before, and was eerily similar to a Lanvin Spring 2008 look.

Other not so great looks featured some mohair column dresses in some puzzling itchy-looking stringy bronze, and cutout laces in full-length dresses that did no justice to the bodies of the 110 pound models wearing them.  WWD already called Poleci’s eveningwear “disastrous,” and while I think that description is a bit harsh, I thought some of the designs for Poleci could be improved.  One particular black satin evening dress were held together by what looked like two perpendicular satin shoelaces, which looked awkward and unnecessary, while some spaghetti strap dresses had juvenile sequined daisies and cirlique patterns.  Overall, Poleci may be a designer to keep an eye on with her draping ability and play with textures, but for now her collection is hit or miss.

See some more pictures from the collection after the cut: (more…)

I mistakenly thought that my obsession with Barbie ended after I aged into the double digits, but it turns out that I just stopped collecting the dolls.  My fascination with the glossy world of Barbie has continued, if not intensified as I got older, and I replaced my doll dresses with real dresses. However, it really took the Barbie Runway Show yesterday at the tents to remind me of the special place Barbie’s always occupied in my heart – and in those of little girls and grown up fashionistas everywhere.

Everyone has a Barbie story.  I fell in love with the doll after spotting it among its friends at a local supermarket at a very young age, and spent the next few years giving her haircuts and making her clothes. The first pair of shoes I really loved were the pink heels Barbie wore.  I was so disappointed that the doll couldn’t actually stand up in them – though now years later I often face the same unfortunate results when I don on my most Barbie-esque pair of Christian Louboutins. At any rate, it was during yesterday’s fashion show that I realized that each girl’s fantasy of the Barbie world lives on well into adulthood whether we covet her wardrobe, her house, her body or her Ken. (more…)

Before sitting down for the Lorick show, I also had the chance to head backstage to get the details regarding the French inspiration for the look for makeup, hair, and nails.  The hair done by Bumble and Bumble, was a tightly rope braid, side-swept chignon that was a last minute conception.  To get the look, Sabrina Michals, lead hairstylist for bumble and bumble prepped the models’ hair with Bb. Surf Spray.  Finishing off the look with some treatment spray, small pieces of black netting were then secured onto the models’ hair in a cloche style, opposite to the side of the chignon.

All of the models’ makeup was airbrushed by Temptu, including foundation and blush, to create a soft, untouched look; as I learned from JP, head makeup artist for Temptu, it is water resistant and also sets quickly. The focus of the look was on the eye makeup with a dramatic modern, sultry take on the cat eye – but with a black straight (instead of curved) winged line that extended almost to the hairline.  Lips were a bright fuschia pink, and made to look matte and powdery, using Shu Uemura’s Pink 358.

Nails were given two coats of Central Park After Dark, a beautiful matte burgundy purple from Dashing Diva’s Manhattan Collection.

Photos © The Daily Obsession

Deciding to nix the dilapidated cake tiers and elaborate garden tableaus, Lorick forwent the presentation in their SP09 season to stage a runway show.  Producing a show that was no less cinematic than last season’s, the Lorick show featured the melancholic, soulful accordion playing of 25 year old British accordionist, Dave Thomas (who does a beautiful version of the Amelie movie theme La Noyee), setting the scene for the French styled, elegantly beautiful dresses to follow.

From reading Elle’s Fashion Week preview for Lorick, I already knew that Abigail Lorick was inspired this season by the 1968 French movie, Mariée Était en Noir (The Bride Wore Black) and like many designers this season, reflective about the somber state of the economy.

With the collection presented yesterday at Focus Studios, it was evident that she was optimistic and hopeful about the dire state of events, beginning with a subdued gray-black color palette and gradually intermixing it with strains of flowery reds, oranges, and midnight blues.  As always, the dresses featured feminine silhouettes with classic Paris silhouettes focusing on the waist, including a particularly fetching version of the waist nipped secretary dress.  Modernized with two tones of shimmery silver-gray, the dress was cut slim to the body, with a slight boatneck line.  Many of the looks at Lorick also featured a lot of different back detailing, with flirty bows around the neck and cutaway backs.  The best pieces from the collection featured tethered diaphanous pieces that were sewn on one side but open on the other, which flowed freely as the models walked, giving the dresses a floaty lightness that contrasted with the subdued colors.

See some more pictures of the collection below: (more…)