Michael Kors' shows are always a celebration of American fashion. And there are certain elements that, season after season, remain the same. As
Cathy Horyn wrote in 2009: "There's almost a science to a good Michael Kors show. Open with Carmen K (naturally), play some feel-good music, and add sex to an American classic." Check, check, and check. (
Carmen Kass, Kors' perennial muse, actually closed instead of opened the show, but still.) Michael Kors, who celebrates his 30th year in fashion this season, presented a collection that updated his signature concepts: Kors' woman is still strong, sexy, and boldly American. His colors ranged from nude to coca to bright red. There were dress shirts cut down to the navel, beaded body stockings, and even an oversized puffy coat. As Kors explained in his program notes, this collection was "polished yet easy."
Invariably the shows presented by Michael Kors are a scene—but at his 30th anniversary runway event Wednesday morning, the front row was packed with a range of American legends: Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones emerged from backstage just before the show began, and braved a mob of video crews and photographers on the runway to fight their way to their seats. They joined Bette Midler, Debra Messing, Rene Russo, and Angie Harmon in the front row. After the show, they all trekked backstage to pay their respects to the designer and present him with a cake to celebrate his milestone. And, because no celebration would be complete without it, Bette Midler (somehow?) got hold of a ukelele, and serenaded Kors with a rousing rendition of "Happy Anniversary." If that's not the best anniversary present a designer could ask for, then we don't know what is.
Evan Agostini / AP Photo
Proenza Schouler's fall show took place on Manhattan's West Side Highway late Wednesday night. It was an unusual spot for the week's events—far away from the gifting suites inside the tents at Lincoln Center and the copacetic gallery spaces of Chelsea. But girls with clipboards stood at the entrance of a dark parking lot, ready to check you in. Pumping music and neon lights gave the place the feel of a fallout shelter in the 22nd century. When the show finally started, it all made more sense: "We did the whole collection on a computer," Lazaro Hernandez, one-half of the brand's design team, said after the show. The collection was inspired by Native American blankets the team discovered on a road trip to Santa Fe—updated for the digital age. Prints on knits were pixilated, and there were bright, solid colors with wool dresses and pants and leather accents. There were several versions of the line's iconic PS1 bag in the crowd—and many women looked closely at the collection to see what bag they'll be toting next year. The PS1 has evolved into a color-blocked clutch in earth tones. Bright platform sandals and elaborate plate necklaces completed the collection.
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Amidst the wash of browns and blacks of the Fall collections this week, at Derek Lam's eBay presentation on Wednesday there was literally a breath of spring: The designer presented a Spring collection in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall—at the same moment it went live on eBay. There, shoppers were able to vote on the looks that they would most like to own. The five winning dresses will be produced immediately and be ready to ship in May, at which point they will be sold on eBay for $125-$295. And from the looks of the collection, it's sure to be an easy sell: From a long floral dress to a pink mini dress, the clothes were light, summery, and, as one onlooker put it: "Very Hamptons!" But Lam explained that crowd-sourcing the collection and selling it on eBay were more about speeding up the metabolism of the fashion industry. "As a traditional fashion designer, you have so many portals that people weigh in on by the time the clothes get to the store," Lam told us before his presentation on Wednesday. "And this is a way for me to directly talk to the consumer. And they can talk to me."
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Last fall, Oscar de la Renta gave us enormous ball gowns with big bustles and acres of tulle. This season, there was less high drama on his runway—but things were still ornate. De la Renta drew inspiration this season from China, and featured several elaborately embroidered coats and dresses with Eastern motifs. Several girls came down the runway with fur hats—which, though they may have been derived from the Himalayas—will certainly be at home next winter on Park Avenue. One fur jacket with a wide hood came over a pink and yellow floral dress. And, thankfully, de la Renta still delivered his signature gowns: Only one really big gown came down the runway for evening—a beaded gray bodice with dusty lace (over which, of course, there was a white fur).
Kathy Willens / AP Photo
It was, as the Wall Street Journal put it, a Russian winter on the runway at Oscar de la Renta's Fall show. And even in the more understated looks—such as one that recalled Little Bo Peep—there was an opulence to the collection.
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Philip Lim's clothes are famously versatile—they're often day-to-night; office-to-bar. For that reason, his inspiration this season seemed a little odd: gangs. Models wore slick top-knots, baggy (but cropped) pants; jersey tops came with leather sleeves, which lent them a tough edge.
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Calling all Oscar stylists: At Marchesa's presentation on Wednesday afternoon, Georgina Chapman (wife of Harvey Weinstein) and Keren Craig debuted a collection that was heavy on fantasy: mountains of tulle, beaded bodices, Miriam Haskell jewelry, lace socks, elaborate lace veils. "I was watching David Lean's [1946 version] of Great Expectations," Chapman explained of the collection. "It's so visually decadent and beautiful, I was so inspired by Miss Havisham's character. I came in and told Keren the next day: ‘We have to do that.'" She explains that through the details of the collection—which includes earrings that weave up the ear, and lace socks that extend mid-calf, she wanted to communicate this idea of "the lady sitting in the attic and having things grow up around her."
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If Hansel & Gretel came to Fashion Week, they'd come wearing Anna Sui. There's one thing that Anna Sui promises every season, and that's prints galore. Big and small, light and dark, layered, and even on socks. Sui presented a collection with her trademark folkloric feel—although this time, she was reportedly inspired by the Diaghilev exhibition at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. Short dresses came in bold colors and lamé, fabrics were covered in beads and patchwork. In the front row Sui nabbed a very random selection of talent: Vanessa Hudgens (in a long printed Sui maxi-dress), Sofia Coppola, and—in nothing other than a fur and leather—Fergie.
Seth Wenig / AP Photo
