SHANGAI

This City served as a source of inspiration last season for society designer, Douglas Hannant. This season, designer Tadashi Shoji drew inspiration from past and present Shanghai to deliver a beautiful collection that stars such as Olivia Spencer, will continue to love and wear.

To read more and to view my backstage video interview, click here for the full story on my new URL.

Enjoy!

Friday, Feb 10

Rebecca Taylor and Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Taylor

The impression we had was based on our knowledge that Rebecca Taylor  is a seasoned pro and knows how to put together a cohesive collection. That was underlined by seeing newer designer Rebecca Minkoff’s collection immediately afterwards. Our strongest impression was that Ms. Minkoff’s collection didn’t hold together as a cohesive collection lacking a central theme.

Ms. Taylor’s clothes this season are layered and asymmetrical. We liked #4, an elegant take on a long tee shirt and leggings. You get the ease of the former but with the festiveness of sequins and chiffon you could wear to a party.

Rebecca Taylor's Look #4 from the fall 2012 Collection Show

Number 18, a velvet burn out dress is for anyone who wants just a little bit of asymmetric.

Ziggy Stardust Wallpaper - David Bowie

Rebecca Minkoff’s Opening Look – Touches of Ziggy Stardust

Rebecca Minkoff's Look #18 from her fall 2012 collection show

Look 27, an ivory boucle sweater and quilted leather skirt is cute but only on the skinniest girl. The asymmetric layered look isn’t for everyone but Ms. Taylor works it with a sure hand.

Rebecca Minkoff

Looks 1 and 3 in the “Galaxy Sequin” segment at Rebecca Minkoff had shades of Ziggy Stardust and seemed ideal for the aspiring LA starlet.

From that point on, although it was obvious that the collection had distinct themes, they were dispersed unevenly. First you see eye-popping neon color with gray and then appears again in look 18 and then in 20 and disappears. We liked this grouping and wished it had been presented together and she did a good job toning down summer brights with gray making it suitable for fall. Look 18 had some nice separates you use in both spring and fall.

Reported by Laura Wood – Thursday, Feb. 9, Milk Studios, NYC

This season the guys had a lot of prints [for them] using their eco-friendly airdye technology. The first look came out and I knew that I was at a Costello Tagliapietra and I felt that although the colors were strong, they would suit a lot of colorings. The plunging V-neck and flutter sleeve were easy-sexy and that’s what you go to C.T. for.

Look #5, the Costello Tagliapietra fall'12 Runway Show

Look #5 was an easy transitional reversible coat in chartreuse and orange, perfect for when you can’t just go out in your dress and meet even extend to chillier summer days.

Although some of the prints included editorial eye-popping colors, Laura loved the sophisticated print of look #8. The skillful construction minimizes what you want to hide and maximizes the curves you want to highlight.

Costello Tagliapietra Look # 8 The Perfect Dress

Costello Tagliapietra Look #9 - the Medieval Hooded Theme

In look #9 they address the hooded theme of the season. After looking at this coat, we can’t wait to throw-away our hats. The hoods are reminiscent of the ones people wore in Medieval Times which were a hooded cloak, not to be mistaken with a sweat shirt hoodie.

Although Vivian loved the skinny pants we agreed that #15, the high waist park pleated trouser is a necessary wardrobe staple whether you’re a size 2 or 12.

Costello Tagliapietra Look #15 The Essential Bark Pant

They offered five evening gowns, and our favorite was look #26 – a lavender sheath with beautiful draping and just enough sheen to be glamorous without being overdone.

Costello Gown Look #26, Our Favorite Evening Option From The fall '12 Collection

Bravo Costello Tagliapietra! You did it again.

Preface,by Vivian Kelly

I’ve always admired  gorgeous women with long blonde locks since I was 5 years old, starting with Goldilocks and  later, Princess Aurora, Farrah Fawcett Majors, Marilyn Monroe and more recently, Blake Lively and Maria Sharapova. Family friend, William, then a Dutch University Student, and now a KLM pilot, jokingly showed me an image of Maria Sharapova on his iphone, casually calling her “my girlfriend” and then laughing when I believed him – for a second.

Apparently, we weren’t the only ones to think Maria was something really special.

This season, at NYFW, Maria was front row at some of New York’s biggest shows. Below, Anthony Palermo, tells us how his ALS partner, Leonard Zagami, created some fresh looks for the gorgeous tennis star. I’ve featured the one she sported at the Marc Jacobs show.

And, now… here’s Anthony!

“Mercedes Benz Fashion week is always filled with fabulous people. These Fall RTW 2012 collections were more about the who’s who in the front row. One of our all time favorites , Maria Sharapova , knows how to make an entrance and cause a frenzy on the court, but the real commotion starts when she is spotted at all the hottest shows!  Celebrity make up artist  and  friend of the AnthonyLeonard Salon ,  Andie Markoe -Byrne, teamed up with  Leonard Zagami, Creative Director of ALS,  to complete Maria ’s looks for the shows.

Read on as Leonard explains look 1 of the 3 looks he gave the grand slammer for this very fashionable NYC Week!

AT Marc Jacobs:

Maria , seen here with famed photographer  Patrick Demarchelier and his wife Mia , had a slightly pinned back side part . “I used Super Shine Cream by Oribe   to get a sleek look with out it being too overdone” says Zagami. ” I also used a Kent Brush ( for fine hair) to help smooth down fly-aways”. Maria usually  parts her hair in the middle so this was a great change for her!

Text, Vivian Kelly and Laura Wood

When Christian Siriano burst onto the scene after becoming the winner of Project Runway’s 4th season. Back then, he was known for his foppy hair do, “fierceness”, wild prints and penchant for ruffles.

Laura already loved bats [the real ones, not the ones in "Twilight"], and she was wowed by the bat inspiration at Christian’s latest runway show. We already know that Twilight’s Kristen Stewart is a fan, but so is Gabourey Sibide of “Precious” who while considerably larger than the waify Stewart, looked great in his designs.

Now to the clothes – in a word, breathtaking.

Almost uniformly, the flow of the clothes as they moved down the runway gave Laura chills. It was a great collection, starting with the opening platinum crepe satin bat vein dress, which set the tone for the whole show. Subtle elegance showed a new found sophistication and self confidence in this very talented American fashion designer. As always, Laura is on the lookout for clothes that fit real women, ie: those who have curves and aren’t 5’11″. Like all the top designers, Siriano seems to fully understand that a winning collection is one in which the women wear the clothes not the other way around.

Later, Laura found a tried and true substitution to her vintage Michael Kors  Eighties’ batwing dress, exit #13, a wing sleeve sheath dress, which actually more suited to her now that she’s in her Forties.

Siriano still retains his sense of drama but he’s in charge of the drama this time and that bears out in his masterful designs like look #9, the faux fox infinity scarf which got “oohs” from Laura’s neighbors. Because it was paired with The very simple knit turtleneck and silk tuxedo trouser underneath set it off perfectly.

He made sure to include some Academy Award contenders including a black beaded scalloped gown and a wing sleeve evening gown. The trend for beaded gowns on the Red Carpet at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards has already been set. We’d love love to see this gown on Berenice Bejo, who was really cute in “The Artist”.

Our vote for “most versatile dress” goes to #22, the burgundy silk sheath dress with flight neckline.

This was the last show of the evening and we almost didn’t go but thanks to the ridiculous self-created chaos at Milk Studio we scrapped our plans to stay for Erickson Beamon, M. Patmos, and John Bartlett. Lucky for us, we’d gotten our interview with John early on – [thanks Ross from the Deborah Hughes team!].

We heard later from Tracy E. Hopkins of Everythingshewants.net that the only way she and her friends were able to stay inside until the 9:00p.m. doors open time was by convincing the security guys who were manning the Libertine show was to let them stay in the building thus avoiding the Studio54-esque lines that extended way past Jeffrey’s.

A cab ride later we entered one of our favorite venues, the ski lodge like atmosphere of the Bowery Hotel’s private party space complete with roaring fire, medieval tapestries, and moroccan tiled floor. The only fly in the ointment was that it was a cash bar but that was offset by the complimentary bobble water bottles.We even posed for them and the bobble is in our bags now at all times.

As far as the clothes – a pleasant surprise; the more we looked the more we liked.  The first impression is how wonderfully the clothes fit with the atmosphere of the venue ie: a perfect presentation. On the way back to the Club, we reflected how these wonderfully constructed clothes would not have have fared as well on a traditional runway. These clothes needed to be examined close-up in order to fully appreciate the detail.

My Contributor, Laura Wood, and Ellen Sears, AAU Online Director of the Fashion School all loved and agreed we would wear the black knit sweater dress. This dress takes into account the idea of season-less dressing which is particularly relevant these days as the weather is so unpredictable. Paired with a a long sleeve top and with a coat, its good to go for a cold 30F day like today. It works just as well in 40-60 degree weather worn on its own with little ballet flats or high sandals.

There were several pieces with hoods for men and women that had were reminiscent of the hooded cloaks worn in Medieval times. A cloak seems like a fresh alternative to a coat. The most spectacular piece was two piece ensemble combined hard and soft. The breast plate-like shell top was intricately worked leather. The more you looked the more of the design you noticed, just as you would a finely carved sword handle. It may be highly “editorial” [translation - not for everyday] but we wanted it anyhow.

Last but not least, we stopped on the way out to admire the art house photogpraphs, especially the one of the fierce guy wearing a ball-gown skirt.

Note to Designers for next season – we’ll go to see anyone who shows here!

The count-down to New York Fashion Week is on but what I call “the pre-show” is more interesting this time around. Usually, I get previews in my in-box which are helpful but a bit boring. This season, though, publicists and designers are taking a more creative approach to generating interest for their clients’ collections that will be revealed next week in New York. Christian Siriano is one of these designers.

A few days ago, I got a beautiful video clip from Slate PR of NY Fashion Designer darling, Christian Siriano‘s Spring/Summer 2012 video campaign that was shot exclusively at the Soho Grand Hotel in New York City. It stars Mena Suvari, with music by Brad Walsh. and edited by Brian Hicks and Alicia Solombrino.

I didn’t need the film to be convinced that the spring 2012 collection was Christian’s strongest one to date, but it DID make me appreciate it all the more.  This is certainly not Mena’s first foray into the fashion and beauty worlds, but this film lacks the canned quality of the l’Oreal videos she’s done. The Siriano film is editorial in nature and as thus, much more interesting to watch. I’ve railed in the past about how actors have replaced supermodels on fashion magazine covers, but when it comes to doing a promotional film of this nature, you need an actor rather than a model. Watch it and see whether or not you agree that red and orange are still Mena’s best colors.  Enjoy!

A Quick Refresher About Mena Suvari

You’re probably most familiar with actress Mena Suvari as the lucsious “Angela” in her 1999 break-out film, American Beauty.American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes. In it, Kevin Spacey stars as office worker Lester Burnham, who experiences a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with Angela, his teenage daughter’s best friend. It’s hard to forget the image of Mena laying in a field’s worth of American Beauty Roses with that knowing look on her face.

Sometimes a show is more than just a show. I reminded myself of this as I sat down [finally] to register for Mercedes-Benz NYFW, and to go over the list of shows on The Fashion List. The task is easier as I’ve already got a list of GO-TO shows – the ones Deborah Hughes Inc. and Paul Wilmot Communications are producing.

One of my favorites last season was Douglas Hannant’s Shanghai inspired collection, which gave me the opportunity to indulge in a historical fantasy – being present at one of those members-only soirees in the American Consulate in the 1930′s.

There’s a book in the works that will be published by another favorite – Assouline Publishing as well. Douglas got the inspiration for the collection by viewing the black and white photographs the author shared with him a few months before the show. The images of the author’s grandparents daily lives in the upper echelons of 1930′s Shanghai society got Douglas’s creative juices flowing and the resulting collection was nothing short of inspired.

Enjoy the video of  my interview backstage with Douglas.

Text, Laura Wood and Vivian Kelly

Viv and I agreed that although we have very different body types [I'm petite and curvy, she's lean and fine-boned],we have the same personal taste when it comes to clothing construction; simple shapes cut in beautiful fabrics. It makes sense that she pulls inspiration from icons such as: Audrey Hepburn, Claire McCardell and Geoffrey Beene.

Lyn Devon is the kind of designer who has what I’m looking for. My favorite dress from her spring 2012 collection was a modern take on a Forties’s dress – a gray tweed sleeveless with a plunging V-neck trimmed in yellow -an unexpected twist. It’s fresh, but not overdone. There are polka dresses too, that are fun and have a nostalgic twist that make them more than just a grouping of cute picnic dresses.

I spoke with Lyn at the presentation, and was immediately floored by the beautiful fabrics which the house has specially designed for them. The fabrics are beautiful and substantial feeling. Below, some of our favorites, but you need to get to a retailer that carries Lyn Devon and try a few on to see for yourself!

*Shopping: Neiman Marcus online, ShopBop.com, Louis – Boston, Lyn Devon Studio – NYC and more.

For  a complete listing, visit Lyn Devon.com

A few weeks ago, while in Town [NYC] to check-out Douglas Hannant’s new PINK collection, I had a number of interesting conversations. One of these was with an industry insider, M, whom I’ve known for 20 years, and whose opinions I respect. We had been rehashing a few of the recent NYFW Shows. Farah Angsana, an eveningwear designer came up.

I remarked that I’d been following her for 4 or so years ago, starting back when I attended the now defunct Mercedes Benz LA Fashion Weeks at Culver City, CA. She and Kevin Hall were consistently among the best shows there. Ms. Angsana knew how to shape a beautiful bodice – which reminded me of Nineties designer, Donald Deal – who may have missed his calling. HE should have been working with movie costume designer Edith Head. Together, they would have designed some utterly unforgettable gowns for Grace Kelly, similar to the stunning aqua one she wore in To Catch a Thief (1955).

Prior to seeing the butterscotch ruffled ball gown in this collection, I had associated the words, “beading” and “bling” with Ms. Angasana’s evening gown designs. This gown showed her ability to deliver design that is understated and elegant and that whispers rather than shouts. Designs such as these play better in the Box’s Art Gallery setting rather than on a runway with blaring music in the big tent’s stadium-like venue.

“Sometimes less is more, said my friend, M. It really worked better for her  showing in the Box than having a big runway show.”

She’s right. I admittedly only saw a few of the looks before rushing off to the next show, but was impressed by the elegant looks I did catch. In our short interview, Ms. Angsana said that she was inspired by a recent trip to Asia and numerous visits to art galleries and museums in which she was sparked by the gorgeous fabrics and embroidery treatment she admired there.

Watch the video below, to hear the details.