While the hair at Ruffian read 17th-century French couture, the downtown-meets-delicate garments, spoke volumes about Brian Wolk and Claude Morais' cooler than cool aesthetic. We saw pretty pastels and mellow yellows mixed with low-slung trousers, Spring 2013's take on the boyfriend blazer, and Baroque prints plastered on sharp collared tops and coordinating skirts... all worn with Converse sneakers, of course.
Being sporty can be synonymous with "unconventional chic," as French fashion brand Lacoste continues to demonstrate. For its Spring 2013 looks, creative director Felipe Oliveira Baptista incorporated canary and nectarine prints from head-to-toe for women, reworked their classic polo into leg-baring dresses, and for men, introduced tough trenches and white-on-white pieces that elevated preppy to a new level of cool.
Modest lengths that reinterpreted the Hollywood glamour of yesteryears filled the runway at Jill Stuart's Spring 2013 collection show. Soothing nudes and noir blacks were punctuated warm peach tones that balanced demure and dainty looks that are quintessential to Stuart's feminine garb.
Victoria Bartlett embodied a warrior woman in her spring collection for VPL, focusing on metallic accents and cutouts for the powerful woman. While the majority of the collection included fluorescent touches from the orange and green family, she dipped into pastels and muted hues. Interestingly, she took a detour from her usual designs, opting to touch on sparkles and length. Not all was new though. One aspect she kept true to was her p...
Edun merged the juxtaposing worlds of their ideal girl for the Spring/Summer 2013 collection, mixing the intimate with the extrovert, the utilitarian with the otherworldly. The result combined into delicate bralettes paired with cargo pants, precious shirts with a hint of sparkle, and jacquard dresses covered with fatigue outerwear. Dressed to take on the concrete jungle, the Edun girl is as prepared for a safari as she is fashionable e...
Draped silhouettes, military-influenced parachute volumes, and reworked silks, wools, and PVC defined Spring 2013 at MM6 Maison Martin Margiela. One of the brighter looks from the collection, this pastel look added an unexpected punch of color while still playing to MM6's minimalist approach. Also present were khaki tones, blues, and shades of grey.
Hoffman's beachy, breezy Spring 2013 collection featured beautiful multi colored caftans and bustiers, delicate swimwear, and beaded tops, and jackets. The blazing turquoise and soft coral hues, flowing skirts and even very-chic board shorts transported us to beaches of Hawaii.
While Rebecca Taylor Spring 2013 played up tropical prints and flowy frocks to accentuate the frame, we especially clamored for her denim work. She elevated the typically rugged textile to complement the feminine frame without being elementary, as seen here with a silky, printed button up paired with shorts of the perfect length. Other notables: a light denim romper with military details and similar wrap dress with banded waist.
In true Rachel Antonoff fashion, the designer behind the cutesy, quaisy-prep namesake took us on a themed journey through Spring 2013 camp. With funny girl Lena Durham in attendance for the presentation (rocking a new short hair cut), Antonoff gave us easy essentials: sweet striped dresses, relaxed sweatshirts, and awesome Bass Loves RA jellies. As far as prints, this one an aerial view of the garden of Versailles resounded thro...
Herve Leger's Spring 2013 collection featured neutral tones of white, nutmeg and greys entwined with with shocking flashes of steel blue, intricate chains, and accents of leather. Depicting a story of the "sultry South," the strong, signature looks of Max Azria and wife Lubov were inspired by quilt-making techniques from the women in Gee's Bend, Alabama. The surprise: this amazing alabaster and nude bandage pant, a novelty amongst the l...
The young, incredibly-gifted Christian Siriano wowed a packed audience today for a show that featured stunning, beautifully feminine looks and touted his massive talent age aside, he's an emerging pro. Detailed to the nines yet sleek and chic, his pearly white, sea foam green, and blush dresses, pant suits, and jumpers were refreshing and absolutely exquisite. Plus, he played up feminine touches on stilettos with life-size bows and ...
What's cooler than cool? Alexander Wang. What's cooler than that? The young designer's eponymous Spring 2013 collection. What Wang has been successful in doing is sticking to a simple color palette — blacks, whites, nudes — but redefining box silhouettes, sheer panels, cutouts, and texture in ways that make the basics look new again. And let's not get started on how amazing that shoe is.
Just like last February, we're seeing fewer of Tibi's signature prints in place of more solids for the Spring 2013 season. Designer Amy Smilovic incorporated just one print — an amalgamation of pink, camel, and white — in many pieces for the new line, but her color blocked skirts and trousers proved her more interesting choices. Her peplum tops were stunners and her usage of overlaid lace was absolutely flawless.
The big, blue sea doesn't belong to Baby Beluga — Monique L'huillier Spring 2013 owns that domain. From the palest of sea foam silks and crepes, to the brightest of aqua prints and deepest blue leathers, the moody hue took us on what L'Huillier says was inspired by "water and life of the sea." That meant crane and koi prints, beading that mimicked moonlit waves, and sensual silhouettes for next Spring.
Porsche Design creative director Thomas Steinbruck sought to create a collection that met the three-F requirement for Spring 2013: functionality, form, and fabrication. Fashioned after sleek German design and automobiles (Bauhaus and of course, the Porsche), Steinbruck's collection coupled sportswear with fresh textiles (RawTec Eurojersey to be exact), and neutral tones for a "retro futuristic mood."
Welcome to the 1980s culture club, circa Boy George's iconic — and colorful — reign. Think graphic prints, oversized silhouettes, and a zany trip back to an era where mixing prints wasn't a trend, but a sign of true style individuality. That's the mindset Alexandre Herchcovitch Spring 2013 created for us. It was a collection that reminded us just how much style repeats itself and how much fun fashion can be.
Inspired by photographs from Jean Besancenot from the 1940s and an Anselm Kiefer exhibition, Anna Laub stayed true to her distinct clean lines and color patterns for Prism's Spring 2013 collection, while embracing the natural elements. With a focus on wood, crystal, and oxidized metal, Prism's textures became stronger. In keeping with her era of inspiration while staying modern, high-waisted bottoms balanced out smaller bikini tops, eve...
