With fashion week approaching, I can't wait to get back to the tents. Every other season I have attended fashion week, I've always covered the shows for one publication or another but this season, I'm hoping to take in a few shows just for myself. Although I am always dazzled with each catwalk I attend, it's definitely a different experience when you're anxiety is boiling throughout the show as you try to plan the best route to the front row celebs to get quotes/reactions/photos once the lights go up and the masses descend upon the runway. I am looking forward to entering the tents with my pen securely in my bag rather than nervously clicking in my fingers. And of course, I can't wait to see what the designers send down the runways for Bryant Park's last season. Below are the six designers to show in February that I am most excited about:
Toni Maticevski: I wasn't too familiar with Toni before I went to his show in the fall but I quickly fell in love with his collection. He is able to beautifully combine a high brow sophistication and elegance with a endearing practicality that makes his pieces become something just so new. Can't wait to see what he has in store for Fall 2010.
Charlotte Ronson: I've been to the Charlotte Ronson catwalk for the past two seasons and her shows are just fun. Your senses are totally rocked as your eyes are greeted with effortlessly cool look after look while you get a bit of a music education too as sister, Samantha Ronson, DJs the show.
ARISE Magazine African Collective: I love the "collective" shows that have been coming out of fashion week for the past couple of seasons. I was blown away by the Argentine Collective show this past fall and got a great story for NEWSWEEK ("The New Black") out of last Spring's African Collective show.
Diesel Black Gold: This show is always, in a word - a spectacle. From the hair and makeup (last year the models had a strangely cool, caught-in-a-fishing-net, look) to the stage (they had the shadows of a live brass band illuminated through a silk screen last year) to the A-list front row, this show never disappoints.
Badgley Mischka: Always classic and a constant reminder why we all got into fashion in the first place. I've only been to one Badgley Mischka show but its whimsical elegance will stay with me for years. I'm looking forward to another transformative experience.
I absolutely loved Charlotte Ronson's SS2010 show. Another designer to yet again confirm that the studded rocker look is a keeper. With a color palette of greys, light pinks and other muted neutrals, Ronson showed a mix between ethereal and urban. Silk cigarette pants and frocks were beautiful in motion as soft tulle-like bunches of fabric were attached to the hip to catch the wind as the models strutted down the runway. Transparency was another high note for Ronson, using lace and other sheer fabrics to take an otherwise fall looking piece and make it more spring appropriate. A wide studded belt was added to a variety of the looks giving these innocent colors and fabrics an ironic hard edge. External studded shoulder pads, loosely bunched transparent leggings, jump suits, and braided headwraps gave the collection a more eclectic feel - a departure from many of Ronson's previous collections.
Nikki Hilton, enjoying the show front row at Charlotte Ronson
Although Charlotte Ronson's show is usually one of my favorite NYFW tickets, this year I was less than enthused about her 90's grunge meets prairie florals collection. Beanies, nose rings and hoodies galore, the collection definitely acheived its desired time machine effect, transporting all of us to the days (grade school for me) of baggy overalls, stringy hair and an affinity for Alanis Morissette and the Spice Girls. Thankfully, the collection's saving grace was Ronson's inclusion of transparent layering with barely there tea length skirts (just another bit of evidence that hemlines are falling across the board) and blouses.
