Remember my friend, Paul? He's Molly's best friend from college. Well, as it turns out, he is wonderfully artistic, exceptionally discerning, and probably has a wider sartorial vocabulary than 99 percent of America. In fact, the only thing he isn't is a tailor, but one day, I'll put a sewing machine in his hands. (Or on his table. They're kind of heavy.)
It is Paul's ultimate dream to be a clothing designer, which I believe is fully within his grasp. But until he begins putting together his own line, he's begun reviewing others. And since this week just happens to be New York Fashion Week, I thought I would share Paul's first ever review of what he's seen so far. Enjoy, and if you want to be added to the distinguished list of email addresses Paul will be sending his reviews to first, let me know, or if you know him yourself, tell him! It is my ultimate goal that some casual yet fabulous Google user with ridiculous connections to Anna Wintour and the halls of Vogue will accidentally read this and hire Paul immediately. A blogger can dream, right?
Here we go!
Welcome to my first ever semi-annual write-up of my favorite shows at New York Fashion Week, which is in full swing right now. I'm about a million years behind on it this year, so this first review will probably be short (except I'm never particular perfunctory in emails, so maybe not). I certainly didn't want to wait til the end of the week, because then you would have completely missed out. And nobody wants that.
If you don't want to receive these from me in the future, just let me know and your name will be removed. No hard feelings (but Anna Wintour may cut your in your sleep with one withering glare....one never knows).
To it:
1. Carolina Herrera. One of my historic favorites (and, side note, of Renee Zellwegger's....yawn) because she designs clothes that are flattering. Matronly in an Upper East Side way? Possibly. But you can't argue with the beauty of her streamlined looks. My fav: The belted Grecian number. Or the be-scarved belted number. Or, really, any of her belted looks.
2. Chris Benz. Yes, his designs revolve around retina-searing patterns, but for the most part he deploys them against a neutral background (those not always: prepare to shield your eyes from some wackado prints and a nip-slip here and there.... Classy Chris, realllly classy). Abrasion aside, however, his designs are never dull and most are actually wearable. Unlike some, his art isn't lofty.
3. Zac Posen. Dang. Dahhaang. Was there a design I didn't like? (A few....see Slide 4) HOWEVER, that man can design some beautiful clothing in fantastic cuts. Like Benz, it's interesting and wearable, but unlike Benz it's intriguing and wearable. Slide 12? Stunner. Slide 22? Lovely. Slide 23? Prediction: Anne Hathaway will attend a red carpet swathed in this. Slide 25? Alien hips, but good alien hips. In sum, it's well-designed drama. Bonus: I deeply covet his suit.
4. Monique Lhuillier. Monique has been a perennial favorite of mine, which is the only reason she made the cut this time around. I think she missed the mark this year. Slide 8? Lovely-ish. Slide 10? Decent. But most of it was uninspired and uninteresting. I actually yawned. That is, until we get to her evening wear (and that fantastic mustard coat-dress). Gowns are her forte; pants are not. The last few slides are worth it.
5. I'm including Lacoste only because I'm deeply in love with it. And because I want to model for them (they're allowed to smile!). I've never been a huge fan of their runway designs (including the year it sent the females strutting in high-heeled flippers....I kid you not). But I wanted to include some menswear (I do apologize that this, too, contains a nip-slip here and there. Thanks a lot, Janet....) However, I do like the white coat on the shorty-shorts model (and let's face it: I like shorty-shorts too. It's a problem I'm working through) (Also, the all-white suit is angelic. I could never wear that, though -- every ounce of coffee, street grime, and ink smudge in a 3-mile radius would find me as soon as I buckled the pants). Most importantly, I think Lacoste is the most obvious example of the sporty-seventies-inspired wear that we'll be seeing this year. The colors, the cuts, the patterns: This isn't the last we've seen of them.
6. Christian Siriano. In a word: fantastic (puke green draw-string trash bag velour pants aside). Seriously: It's cool, it's effortless, it's refreshingly simple without being devoid of interest (sometimes too simple: man, designers of late have been overly fond of baring it all....further nip slips ahead). And there is, of course, Siriano drama. Natch.
7. Call me crazy, but I'm kind of liking Academy of Art's stuff. It may be that I'm jaded by men wearing shorts and sport coats together, or that loose-fitting leggings under an otherwise cute skirt no longer ruffles my feathers. All that aside, I was just about to get on board the AoA train (ticket in hand, ready to give to the....man who punches tickets....what's he called?) when the men's SWOBE happened. You can't un-see the swobe (that is, sweater-robe). And yet, I'm serving it to you now so that you too can attempt to un-see this preposterous design.
8. Alexandre Herchcovitch. Pretty, if similar to Grandmother's upholstered dining room chairs. But that isn't necessarily bad. A little wan, but overall......pretty.
9. Barbara Tfank. I had never heard of her before (which isn't saying much, really) but after one look at her line I'm hooked. Now I'll admit that I'm a sucker for fabulous women in fabulous clothes with some insanely fabulous big hair, but I'm really liking her designs. It isn't fashion-forward, and I believe I smell a little of the dreaded eau de costume, but by and large Barbara has joined the Mad Men groupies. Maybe she's even styling them.
10. Marc by Marc Jacobs. Not that I'm overwhelmingly wowed by this line, but I will say this: It's a prime example of the hugeness of color blocking that we'll be seeing shortly. (Are you taking notes? 70s, color-blocking...these are the trends to watch for) And it's another example of the rise of the hemlines of men's shorts (woot!) (I know I know) (but I'm pretty seriously excited) (Yesssss I knowwwwww....) But THEN. Slide 41 came along and I saw stars. That SUIT! Must. Have. (And if you can make it to the last slide, you'll see Marc Jacobs in a man skirt. Talk about things you can't un-see).
11. Guishem. If you can get past the boob yarmulkes, you might actually see some lovely designs.
12. Thom Browne. He gets my vote for several things: 1. Most ridiculous spelling of a numbingly boring name (To wit: I think I will appeal to have mine changed to "PaAaool Smythe, just to trump him when I become a famous designer). 2. Most ridiculous deployment of fabric ever. Look at this show if you want to know the answer to questions like "Can I wear green Twizzlers as a shirt?" or "Are there any options for me if I want to wear multiple pants at the same time?" or "What if I am terribly ashamed of my kneecaps but am awfully fond of showing off my thighs....and want to deploy my garter straps. Is there a solution for me?" His designs are so campy even Gaga would beg him to tone it down a notch. But I'll give him this: His models do seem to be having fun.
13. I tried to include something about Herve Leger (pretend there are accent marks on the appropriate "e"s) since I was a huge fan of the bandage dress, but all I can think of are words like "Amazon", "gladiator", "alien overlord dominatrix" and "asphyxiation". And yet......there's something in the design that isn't repulsive. I think that was a compliment.
14. However, my FAVORITE designer of the round (and therefore, the winner) is definitely Reem Acra. Unabashedly adore. The entire line is put together with a simplicity of line that allows for movement but also flatters the heck out of a woman's body.
15. I should not surprise anyone, then, when I say my favorite look comes from Reem Acra. BEHOLD:
All right! There's my round up of favs so far (which only means of the 40 or so that I've actually looked at). I tried to include some lesser-known names, like Nicole Miller (oh my eyes! It was sheer ocular assault - I couldn't even finish the show) or What Goes Around Comes Around (which I didn't include because it's the dumbest name for a fashion line of all time....and the clothes were hideocre) or Betsey Johnson (lingerie! cleavage! tacky!) or Y-3 (shapeless dumpy sacks) or Band of Outsiders (shapeless dumpy sacks that appear to have been hemmed with fingernail clippers). But in the end, class and sophistication won out. As well it should.
Look for more from me soon!
Much love to you all,
Paul
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