Saturday, September 29, 2012

Swimwear from the Ready-to-wear Runways

As fashion month finishes up in Paris this week, we took a look back at the swimwear that went down the runways in New York, Milan and Paris at the Spring/Summer Ready to Wear shows. It is always interesting to reflect on what these designers, who focus primarily on RTW, envision for swim. 

The Herve Leger brand has taken their signature knit bodycon bandage construction into swim but the elaborate mallots are more for posing poolside because unfortunately they aren't meant for water! This season the one pieces featured intricate embroidery and basket woven straps.


NYC designers Cushnie et Ochs had 2 brave white bikinis in their SS2013 collection. The style was a novel contrast of Gothic scalloping done in a white modern fabric.


Micheal Kors gave us a mod nautical one piece. Stripes were a big part of his show, Kors said his inspiration was "geometric glamour."

At Dsqaured2 in Milan the look was super 90's! The styling included biker hats, lots of gold chain and pearls channeling vintage Chanel. This look is not for the sheepish!

In Paris, Lanvin's designer Alber Elbaz always sets the bar for feminine, chic fashion. The lone swimsuit in his collection had an asymmetrical leg line with one very high cut leg and the other more moderate. The effect was very cool!

This season Missoni's swimwear options include a double layer suit with a lycra underlayer and the trademark Missoni knit layer above, a much better option for swimmers given that knitwear tends to get heavy and saggy when wet.


 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

New York Fashion Week Highlights

Fashion Week swept New York City last week as designers showed their Spring 2013 collections. Here are a few highlights from the shows:

Color was the statement at the Diane von Furstenberg SS2013 show. Color-blocked combinations of pinks, acid greens and yellows floated down the runways.


Cut-out dresses were the rule at Alexander Wang. Prada started the belly-baring trend with cropped bralets and knee length skirts at their SS2012 show. For SS2013 many New York designers including Wang,  Calvin Klein and Cushnie et Ochs made a more wearable version of this trend with dresses featuring cuts outs at the mid-drift.

Oscar de la Renta is known for opulent (almost stuffy) femininity. This season his collection was injected with a a girlie edge. Suits and evening gowns in salmon pink, magenta and teal were a welcome surprise. However, not everyone was enamored with the collection. NY Times fashion writer Cathy Horyn gave it a not-so-kind review calling Mr. de la Renta a "hot dog" and the show "wonderfully cantankerous." De la Renta shot back with an open letter to Ms. Horyn in WWD yesterday calling her a "2-day old hamburger" and ending this season on a hilarious note. What is fashion week with out a little drama?!? Already can't wait until next season!