Nordstrom at NYFW

Thakoon: Lived-in Luxury

Designer Thakoon Panichgul set a cerebral tone using an echoing heartbeat as "music" when we entered his show space. Models passed through glowing white sculptures lit from within.

Look #1 was a gray cable matelasse cape-sleeve hooded jacket, black merino asymmetric cardigan and black canvas jersey paired with gray merino wool layer leggings. The jacket was like a luxury-class hoody.

The matelasse fabric was the first indication of Thakoon's dedication to texture in this collection. Other fabrics included rumpled velvet, fox and mink furs, double-faced twill, burnout velvet and leather.

Technically advanced but familiar silhouettes included pullovers, bomber jackets, shift dresses and track pants. The color palette ranged from gray to black and ivory to yellow. Tiny pompoms were an unexpected and whimsical detail that actually worked for a fall collection .

 

Narciso Rodriguez Does Mixed Media

Typically a minimalist designer, Narciso Rodriguez focused his Fall 2010 Collection on mixing fabrics, textures and color. The show opened with a black wool, twill coat with a circular silk Mikado inset. 

One thing is true for this season—there is no shortage of beautiful coats to choose from. Shearling is showing up everywhere, and we adored the black shearling jacket and jersey top paired with a wool and silk Mikado skirt.

Then came softer and more draped shapes than we're used to seeing from Narciso. And in a black-heavy season, we loved the striking jade, aqua, bronze and brick textured silks he used in dresses with sexy side cut-outs. The last look of the evening was a black textured silk dress with a bronze studded embroidered jacket.

For a futuristic look, Narcisco accessorized with big round box hats made of leather and wool—but don't try this look off the runway...at least not this decade.

Michael Kors: Quintessential American Sportswear

More often than not, Michael Kors is spot-on when it comes to offering easy but chic American sportswear. This season, he showed urban casual vs. country luxe—i.e. perfect for the city jet setter with a country estate.

Now, I don't live in the "big city," nor do I live in the country in a place large enough to require a name like "Highfield Estates" (though that would be an ideal setting to don his camel mohair cocoon sweater). No matter, I still have a fair amount of Michael Kors in my closet, and my bet is that this season—just like me—you can find amazing pieces to update your everyday wardrobe.

For his Fall 2010 Collection, Michael mixed fabric textures like crinkle and crushed cashmere, mohair, tweed, silk and jersey, The crinkle or crushed cashmere came in the form of Chesterfield coats in smoke and camel—we love. As Pamela, my colleague/fellow blogger, was leaning over and pointing them out to me, someone from Michael's team sitting next to us said those were Michael's favorite, too!

Speaking of favorites, I adore when Michael does evening; it's always simple, clean and sophisticated. He ended the show with three sequin numbers that hug the body—the last look was a black paillette jersey gown with a slight slit at the hip...oh, so very sexy.

 

Jason Wu and Tse Collaborate: Lush Feminine Knitwear

I wanted to share about Jason Wu's capsule collection with cashmere house, Tse. We really loved some of the pieces resulting from this collaboration (and with the snow outside, I wished I was wearing one of the chunky, metallic, looped-tape-yarn scarves around my neck). The collection was full of lush knitwear, flannel blazers and cashmere sweaters layered over chiffon dresses and skirts.

A few of my personal favorites: a red and beige, blocked cashmere tee that was incredibly soft (the more informal fashion presentation allowed us to touch and feel a bit). Wu explained his science behind hand washing some of his fabrics, including cashmere and chiffon, to get that "extra feel" to it.

I loved the black cashmere dress with an off-white silk chiffon pleated underskirt (so much so that I asked our national buyer to take a note for me—a pitfall of the job).

Yes, it took me and few others about five minutes to figure out that it was one easy piece (I'll admit it; we had to ask the model). It was accessorized with black chunky ribbed gloves and a black leather skinny belt. A note about Wu's dresses: most of them deliver with the belts included, which is a huge plus in the designer world!

If you're near Seattle, visit with Jason, and shop his Spring collection as well as place pre-orders for fall on April 15, from 1-3PM at our Downtown Seattle flagship store!

Disco Punk at Phillip Lim

The makeup vision for the Phillip Lim show was very rebellious and exuded a strong sense of confidence. This look has many layers—from punchy eyes to soft lips.

Lisa Butler, Lead Artist for NARS, mixed pink shades with grays and beiges to give a more textured look to the skin. Reminiscent of Blondie's Debbie Harry in the late 70's—very punk rock princess.

The tip with this look is to do a lot of contouring right under the cheek bone with a foundation one shade lighter than your skin. Lisa sculpted the models' faces into beautiful works of art.

The final outcome was a brilliant mix of elegance and rock and roll.