Short skirts and dresses were all over the S/S '10 runways, but no one does short better than Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler. The main idea was skirts and tank dresses that looked like you wrapped your jacket around your waist. It turned into a very cool-girl, relaxed short skirt. The prints were almost an animal print, but very fresh and new...an animal print we really haven’t seen before. Shoes were a VERY high wedge (looked like wood).
Anna Sui is always a high-energy show where being in the audience is a raucous experience. This season there was preppy styling with a rocker edge. She used neckties as accessories, showed lots of vests over dresses, lots of lamé and mixed patterns. Anna's rocker/girlie dresses are the best!
We knew we were in for a treat upon seeing Phillip Lim's red, 3-D, mirrored backdrop. The runway was awash in the same red and models were reflected as they headed back down the runway to exit. It made for a dramatic statement and a memorable visual effect.
The show opened with a lipstick-red, double-breasted "Etudiante" shirt jacket (French translation: "student." A "Gossip Girl" inspiration, perhaps, with Leighton Meester in the front row?) and lipstick-red guru pant with roll-down waistband.
We loved look 4: red veneer voile rain coat, it really played off the runway color. The crowd seemed to love it as well. Other stand-outs: camel-colored lambskin pieces, a black two-tone kangaroo leather moto-jacket and the last look: ivory, lace-tiered "compilation" dress with abstract cubist sculptural organza appliqué. It was a great show!
When we arrived at Tory Burch's presentation, she was walking Anna Wintour through the lineup, methodically explaining each look.
The collection looked fresh. Very current. The skirts--short and some in subdued bubble shapes--were great. There were skirts in matte sequins, perforated leather, supple suede. Tailored shirts and boyfriend jackets were well-fitted. Shine was also an important statement whether from sequins, studs or jewelry. We also liked the tie-dye shorts and caftans. We love the moccasin-like flat Mary Jane shoe in suede--like a car shoe for Tory girls. You can see them in the 2nd photo behind the central model.
I love it when designers show their support for fellow designer friends by attending each other's shows. Tory Burch was in the audience at Narciso Rodriguez as were Isabel and Ruben Toledo. We watched the Toledos fondly as they wound their way through the crowd, hand-in-hand.
Other sightings: Courtney Love was mobbed by paparazzi. Jessica Alba looked runway-ready, her hair perfectly coiffed in a chic bun. (Jessica's the loveliest girl. She sat with the Nordstrom table at The Met Ball, this past May, wearing Jason Wu.) Emmy Rossum looked polished in a perfect pony tail. All three front-row celebs looked hot in black Narciso numbers.
The first look was a beautiful silk pleated organza skirt and black linen canvas jacket:
A pair of white silk/linen organza dresses were simple, clean, pretty. Loved the use of tan jute with black for a coat-and-skirt look and also loved a chic jacquard dress. Another favorite, look 16: grey linen silk jacquard dress. Narciso "eased up" on his silhouette this season, offering a fresh alternative to his signature strict tailoring. The result was modern and one that Narciso fans, a la Michelle Obama, are sure to love.
The finale pieces were three silk A-line dresses. The last one--in mercury--was a beautiful silver color:
