For a few weeks each year, some soccer moms and dog walkers are mildly inconvenienced by the New York Fashion Week's temporary tent city. And last week the invitation-only elite gathered for one last time in Bryant Park to say good-bye to the garment district's backyard. Okay, I wasn't actually there (duh) but I can't help but see this as the end of an era.
Designer fashion is in a state of decline for a multitude of reasons: the economy, a general trend away from "frivolity," the recent deaths of some big designer names (Yves St. Laurent, Alexander McQueen), the war on terror, the war on drugs, a republican governor in Massachusetts, and lots of other reasons I disagree with or choose not to believe. Bryant Park has been the backyard of the garment district since the beginning, and the move to Rockefeller Center just seems out of place. It's taking something that's so exclusive, so wholly "New York" and putting it in the center of Tourist-opolis. Even so, let's review the gems that one last Bryant Park Fashion Week has given us.
Inspired by a Tex-Mex border town, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte rocked my North-of-the-border world. Cathy Horyn of The New York Times, who I usually agree with, thought the concept wore thin, but I find that hard to digest considering the sheer amount of layers. The construction looked solid and the silhouettes mesmerizing. The washed-out florals and gauzy draping created an ethereal, whimsical collection. Each model looked like a little girl putting on every garment in her mother's closet, exploring what it means to be a woman. Maybe some of the pieces were more underwear-on-the-outside themed, I cannot help but be sincerely moved by the honesty and and beauty of this collection.
But in all honesty, it's called ready-to-wear. How wearable do you really think this is? The pieces can be worn one by one, but would you show up to your office, class, dinner date in this dress? Certainly not. But where's the fun in that?
Of the more wearable pret-a-porter collections in New York last week was Nanette Lepore's. Feminine, flirty, flattering. But most of all, wearable. I can see myself going to class, grabbing a coffee, living my life in this outfit. The whole collection is more accessible than the Rodarte, but it's still art. Nanette Lepore saturated the runway with rich fabrics and romantic patterns. A velvet military-inspired jacket, ubiquitous this season, seems perfect for the damp chill of autumn. I can't think of just one word to sum up this collection, but that's because this it shouldn't be limited to just one.
Designer fashion is in a state of decline for a multitude of reasons: the economy, a general trend away from "frivolity," the recent deaths of some big designer names (Yves St. Laurent, Alexander McQueen), the war on terror, the war on drugs, a republican governor in Massachusetts, and lots of other reasons I disagree with or choose not to believe. Bryant Park has been the backyard of the garment district since the beginning, and the move to Rockefeller Center just seems out of place. It's taking something that's so exclusive, so wholly "New York" and putting it in the center of Tourist-opolis. Even so, let's review the gems that one last Bryant Park Fashion Week has given us.
Inspired by a Tex-Mex border town, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte rocked my North-of-the-border world. Cathy Horyn of The New York Times, who I usually agree with, thought the concept wore thin, but I find that hard to digest considering the sheer amount of layers. The construction looked solid and the silhouettes mesmerizing. The washed-out florals and gauzy draping created an ethereal, whimsical collection. Each model looked like a little girl putting on every garment in her mother's closet, exploring what it means to be a woman. Maybe some of the pieces were more underwear-on-the-outside themed, I cannot help but be sincerely moved by the honesty and and beauty of this collection.
But in all honesty, it's called ready-to-wear. How wearable do you really think this is? The pieces can be worn one by one, but would you show up to your office, class, dinner date in this dress? Certainly not. But where's the fun in that?
Of the more wearable pret-a-porter collections in New York last week was Nanette Lepore's. Feminine, flirty, flattering. But most of all, wearable. I can see myself going to class, grabbing a coffee, living my life in this outfit. The whole collection is more accessible than the Rodarte, but it's still art. Nanette Lepore saturated the runway with rich fabrics and romantic patterns. A velvet military-inspired jacket, ubiquitous this season, seems perfect for the damp chill of autumn. I can't think of just one word to sum up this collection, but that's because this it shouldn't be limited to just one. 
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