NYFW: Duckie Brown's accent color is 'county orange'

NEW YORK -- My buddy Chip in Brentwood is the only fellow Vermonter I know in Southern California, and there's been many a time when we've found ourselves laughing inanely about things those outside of the Green Mountain State would hardly notice.
They usually involve the manufacture of maple syrup, hunting season or a guy named Lorne who was maligned on the walls of every cubicle in the UVM library for his less-than-gentlemanly treatment of the state's moose population.
One time, we started laughing about a hue we dubbed "county orange" -- it's the particular shade of blaze orange associated with hazmat suits, hunting vests, road crew workers and guests of the county penal system. To us, the image of a guy clad in county orange and leaning on a shovel was as familiar a roadside attraction as the Marlboro Man billboard that towered over Sunset outside the Chateau Marmont for years.
That's what came to mind yesterday at the Duckie Brown show, which, like most of the men's shows in Milan and Paris, (and so far, here in New York as well) didn't stray far from a basic black and gray color palette accented with a single pop of color. For the Duckie Brown boys, that was -- you guessed it -- county orange.
That the collection was full of loose-fitting padded trousers, turtlenecks and cold-weather gear that brought to mind the more fashion-forward of the snowboarder set made it all the more appropriate for the cooler climes of slopeside Vermont.

Emporio Armani Men's Collection Spring/Summer 2009

Blue DNA

The genetic code of this Emporio Armani collection is revealed in a palette of pale shades ranging from stormy hues of gray to dark variations of navy blue, possessing the plain austerity of uniforms.

A mental horizon focused on the city, an atmosphere of Nordic Europe, where the contemporary meets the future, the silhouette is now more streamlined, more dynamic: wide trousers, so typically Armani, narrow at the hem, drawn in by two darts. The jacket is reconstructed, but features a small seam on the shoulder that suggests a hand made finish.

Emphasizing the slim look, sleeves are close fitting with a narrow shawl collar. Meticulous linings are piped and edged, creating an overall lightness with delicate materials such as linens treated with new finishes, silk and polyester blends, and shirt material adopted for trousers. Even the leather for bombers and blousons, pierced and displaying heat laser printing for a bark effect, is chosen for its lightweight feel.

New York Fashion Week: Thom Browne Thinks Big

When I saw Thom Browne's fall/winter 2010 runway collection would be showing at the Park Avenue Armory this season, I immediately envisioned the immense, 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall with its soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling where most of the fashion events take place (last season Yohji Yamamoto and French soccer player Zinedine Zidane memorably kicked soccer balls toward runway photographers at the culmination of a Y-3 show there). 

But once again, Browne was playing with proportions -- and expectations -- and attendees found themselves sequestered in small groups in one of four 19th-century-period reception rooms off to the left and right. (The room I was seated in, known as "The Veterans Room," is apparently one of only two remaining interiors in the world designed by Louis C. Tiffany Associated Artists.)

New York Fashion Week: Vera Wang's Understated Comfort

Vera Wang, like so many designers this season, is making a case for understatement, using the theme of "film noir" as a starting point for her darkly romantic collection of soft, sculptural, day to night pieces.

Highlights included a black twill jacket with an organza corsage, a white linen voile blouse with a sculptural twist at the shoulder, and a genius charcoal knit jumpsuit with tuxedo stripes.

Bejeweling was at a minimum, which was a change for Wang, reflecting a new, sportier attitude. (Models wore ropes of distressed pearls instead of the bibs of jewels they have had in seasons past, exuding a less polished, more distressed glamour.)

New York Fashion Week: Barbara Tfank's grown-up glamour for the 'Mad Men' set

What's so powerful about L.A. designer Barbara Tfank is she knows what she does -- grown-up glamour with the finest fabrics in the world -- and what she does not do -- trends and in-your-face glitz. And she never wavers.

For years, she has used vintage Bianchini-Ferier fabrics in her collections. And this season, she went one step further, designing her own textiles inspired by Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy.

The peppy florals and moody roses add whimsy to classic ladylike shapes, such as a midnight-blue and emerald rose-print shift with a back panel and a neckline that sits just off the shoulders, and a column gown in a Fauvist black-and-blue floral print with a grosgrain ribbon at the waist.

New York Fashion Week: The Kardashians - Kim, Khloe and Kourtney - unveil their Bebe line

The latest leveraging of the Kardashian sister synergy hit the runway in Manhattan on Tuesday, as the Bebe-Kardashian line debuted at the Style 360 subset of New York Fashion Week. Since this was five long blocks across town from the Bryant Park tents -- the center of the New York Fashion Week universe --the highest wattage celebrity attendee seemed to be the increasingly Amazonian-looking Jenni "J-Woww" Farley of "Jersey Shore" fame, who breezed into the room on glittery legs, wearing a turquoise Ed Hardy T-shirt dress and batting eyelashes the size of small butterflies, causing a Pamplona-like running of the paparazzi. 

New York Fashion Week: JC Obando; great tailoring skills, boring runway

L.A.-based designer Juan Carlos Obando took the idea of razor-sharp tailoring and beat us over the head with it.

Working in a drab palette of sand, gray and black, he showed super skinny worsted wool trousers that were totally spare aside from spiraling seams, and sleeveless belted shift dresses pared down except for a few curve enhancing stitches.

Although he should be applauded for his rigorous technique, this collection needed some eye candy beyond shoe designer George Esquivel's laced boot extensions.

It didn't help that it was all a build-up to a finale of gowns with micro plisse bodices, something we've seen from him many times before.

New York Fashion Week: Zac Posen, Thakoon tire out while Peter Som gets his second wind

With lackluster collections from Jason Wu, Thakoon Panichgul and Zac Posen, I was beginning to worry that New York Fashion Week was experiencing a young designer burnout.

It's easy to see how it could happen, with the pressure to make headlines and reinvent season after season -- and now in the pre-seasons, too.

But not every designer has the boundless imagination to be an Alexander McQueen. (It's possible even McQueen was having trouble keeping up, and that it led to his death.) And not every designer should try.

New York Fashion Week: Diane von Furstenberg Shows How to Live Like a Man, But Dress Like a Woman

Diane von Furstenberg may have had the best inspiration line ever in her show notes: "I always wanted to live a man's life in a woman's body."

What did it mean? A study in contrasts, masculine meets feminine, hard against soft -- a chiffon-rosette-embroidered bolero worn over a double-breasted heather-gray pantsuit, a black-felted wool blazer over a pleated school girl glitter-jacquard skirt, and a bronze-sequin jacket over a red-print chiffon dress.

It added up to lots of the versatile, wear-everywhere pieces that keep women coming back to DVF, including the perennial wrap dress, done for evening in black jersey with ruffled organza cap sleeves.

The designer also excelled at offering pieces with details that looked special for the money, such as a black-felted wool sheath dress and sweater jacket with artful metallic chain mail insets at the bottom, that have already made it onto at least one editor's fall shopping list.

New York Fashion Week: DKNY Remixes the Classics

The classics remixed. That was the takeaway from the fall DKNY line, a compelling mash-up of menswear- inspired equestrian plaids, Bauhaus grids and Deco florals. Schoolgirl pleated skirts came in mixed plaids and checks, and Angora wool coats were oversized and man-tailored, some with contrast leather piping.

Bands of electric blue sequins livened up the camel, gray, burgundy and black sweaters and scarves in geometric collage patterns. And for evening, short dresses shined with metallic patches of beads and sequins.

New York Fashion Week: Could Ohne Titel be the next Donna Karan?

The most exciting thing I saw on the runway Saturday was the Ohne Titel collection. Bringing a new kind of cool to draped silk, velvet and washed leather separates by working them with athletic mesh and knit, designers Flora Gill and Alexa Adams challenged the boring vernacular of office suiting.

Could we be looking at the next Donna Karan?

The designers, who met at Parsons School of Design and have stints at Helmut Lang and Karl Lagerfeld between them, launched their line in 2006, and they have been on an upward trajectory ever since, garnering nominations and awards from the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

New York Fashion Week: Rising star Prabal Gurung Needs to Stay Grounded

For some reason this season, Prabal Gurung was anointed the new kid to watch. When he staged his first runway show in the Tents on Saturday, everyone was there -- department store buyers, magazine editors, even a celeb or two.

Why? Who knows. Oprah's a fan, the designer has a quirky name (pronounced Praa-ball) and a cute face, he grew up in Katmandu, started his career in India, and was design director at Bill Blass for five years. Sculpted coats and skirts in camel, black and white wool cashmere with curvilinear seams had a Blass feel to them, but a bit too much bulk, and the floating panels, peplums and double layers weren't incorporated well enough into the designs.

One-shouldered silk gazar dresses, distinguished by sculptural ruffles, didn't feel that special either. The best look -- a motocross-inspired minidress that was a patchwork of metallic oxidized lace and wool faille. Too bad he didn't stay focused on that technique a little longer.

New York Fashion Week: Jason Wu, a Case of Outsized Ambition

Jason Wu's fall collection was a case of outsized ambition. On the one hand, menswear-inspired separates strayed too far from the designer's comfort zone. On the other, couture-inspired Chantilly lace ball gowns (some with padded hips) overwhelmed his tiny, poorly lit runway.

Daywear fell flat with boxy jackets in too-heavy mohair, fold-over-waist pegged trousers and unremarkable draped wool plaid skirts. Only his cocktail dresses hinted at what could have been, the best in a blush-colored gauze that looked like spun sugar.

New York Fashion Week: Alexander Wang, the Coolest thing in N.Y. Fashion

The zipper sunglasses, the studded-base handbags -- Alexander Wang is the coolest thing in New York fashion right now. And this season, he let loose his tough 'n' trashy aesthetic on the men's suit. 

 

Although we've seen this exercise in deconstruction many times before (Jean Paul Gaultier, Junya Watanabe), Wang gave it his own pseudo-Goth night-crawler spin with the addition of velvet thigh-highs and lace-trimmed swallow-hemmed dresses. (And let's not forget his more accessible price point.)

Fashion Diary: Technology meets Fashion Week

Gossip, first impressions, trends in the making, celebrities and style setters.

 

This is shaping up to be the season when the runway comes to you.

Hundreds of designers will present their fall collections during the monthlong runway circuit that kicked off Wednesday in New York and ends in mid-March in Paris with a stop in Milan along the way. And although the runway shows used to be exclusive events -- closed to all but select editors, store buyers and stylists -- fashion houses increasingly are extending the reach of their blockbuster productions by using the Internet. 

For several seasons now, fashion show attendees have been taking their own amateur video and photos and posting them online using Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. So it was only a matter of time before designers got on the bandwagon. Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana are among those who have experimented with bringing their runway shows to the digital space.