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So Far, New York Fashion Week Provides Escape, Not Politics

At Noon By Noor and Cinq à Sept the loose feel of the clothes and dreamy settings showed, in the early stage of NYFW, a determination to embrace fantasy above harsher reality.

Noon By Noor

The bold and colorful presentation of Noon by Noor’s Fall 2018 collection added the much-needed flair for what started off as a cold and gloomy morning. As music that would normally be played in a yoga studio hummed quietly throughout the room, the fashion folk kissed each other gently.

The zen atmosphere was soon shattered by powerful marimbas that set the tone for what was to come. For this year’s collection, designers Shaikha Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Shaikha Haya Mohamed Al Khalfia, drew inspiration from “starry night sky” of the island Kingdom of Bahrain in the Middle East. Black and midnight blue ensembles were juxtaposed by vibrant colors of gold, atomic yellow, and hot pink. Like the sunset before the night, bright colors could be seen peeking out from dark, wide-shoulder overcoats and jackets.

While the designers set out to showcase a masculine style of tailoring, other silhouettes from the collection included sleek, bright-colored dresses, as well as airy chiffon shirts and blouses. The collection spanned stylish modern suits to comfortable evening gowns.

The final piece on the runway, a flowing black dress with golden polka dots, most closely resembled the night sky the designers set out to replicate. A bejeweled ribbon was placed at the front of the outfit – just above the waistline – made for the perfect shining star.    

Xavier Piedra

Cinq à Sept

So far, at the slices of New York Fashion Week I have attended at least, there has been little #MeToo, zero Trump fury, and quite a bit of willed escape. On Thursday at Cinq à Sept, held in the fancy-schmancy ballroom of the Pierre Hotel tables of already zonked-looking journalists and fashion-watchers were set up for tea, with miniature sandwiches, scones and pastries.

Yes, reader, they were mostly untouched.

Coffee was served, there was tea, and glasses of water, and a string quartet who played pop music, including ‘Uptown Funk.’ Let me tell you, ‘Uptown Funk sounds way better played by a string quartet.

Jane Siskin, Cinq à Sept’s founder, wrote in cards at each table that the collection was borne of a desire to return to a time of pre-social media politesse, of writing letters, having tea and going to balls. “This lost time of romance” was then brought to life with models in gorgeous long dresses made if chiffon and sequins, crepes and tulle. It was the perfect meeting of romantic and hip, and at the end they all held ribbons and danced around a maypole. Air-skimming culottes, loose sweaters worn over sequin short trousers, a siren-red short dress with clumpy boots—all sailed by.

The pastries remained untouched.

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Tim TeemanSenior Editor and Writer

Xavier Piedra

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