Altuzarra SS17 Review

Joseph Altuzarra kept his clothes playful, flirty and light. Fruity prints, consisting of cherries, blueberries and lemons were a constant through the show and were seen on super skimpy bra tops and lots of feminine ruffled slip dresses. Python skin came in various forms, with my favorite being a summer jacket boasting a black & white checked border with red lace on it and a blue, denim printed python skirt with embroidered lemons. I love how effortless those silhouettes looked but I’m sure embroidery on delicate exotic skin couldn’t have been easy.

Altuzarra continued his tryst with Gingham from his SS15 collection which I was a huge fan of (you can read the old review here). Monochrome checked kick flare pants, slanting side slit pencil skirts in pink, and a beautiful blue shirt dress (with a contrasting python bralet), all in a fun tablecloth print were an absolute hit. The designer added a little bit of utilitarian glamour too, with cargo jackets featuring contrasting piping. One has to also take into account the little detailing on the clothes. Case in point: printed fabric that was intertwined within the holes on a leather belt and casually flailing about. Sexy silhouettes continued through striped off the shoulder knit tops and body hugging dresses. Finally, there were evening dresses. Not the restricting, and super tight kinds. But flowy, with multiple ruffled tiers out of which, a reptile print number with bright sequins and cherries embellished on them still lingers in my memory.

Accessories included colourful oversized earrings (I'm going to hunt every e-commerce platform to find them), semi- circle purses mainly in exotic skin and soft bucket bags with a bit of a twist. Most of the shoes were open toe sandals with low heels which matched perfectly with the effortless clothes he created. All in all, it was a solid collection that will be seen on a lot of the fashion flock next season.

Images Via Vogue.com

New York Fashion Week Round Up - Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta SS 15

At Oscar de la Renta, models floated down the runway to western classical music in the prettiest of clothes. A pink gingham coat and a blue checked midriff baring top paired with a matching skirt were amongst my favourites from the opening looks. Flowers were very significant to the collection. There were tulips pasted on dresses, shirts and even seen embroidered on a fur coat. The pastel pink dress with a tulip on the white lapel and the baby blue ball gown with silver tulips were just heavenly. There were other colourful blooms  stitched on everything from organza to a crochet dress to a gorgeous white coat. Although, being partial to blue, I have to say, the blue coat bursting with flowers was just divine.

Whilst the collection may have been very feminine, the designer ensured he also made it extremely sexy. Laser cut skirts and dresses playing peek-a-boo with skin were graceful and sensual at the same time. Clothes with broderie anglaise had the same effect. Case in point: A white maxi dress (cinched with a silver belt) with eyelets and holes cut out all over. Feathers also made their way into the clothes. Either used in abundance to fringe the bottom of a sparkling white blouse with black stripes or used daintily to decorate the shoulder of a sheer, black, floor length gown. An absolute favourite was the black and white knee length dress with black sequinned squares on the bust, a large embellished motif in the middle and feathers placed in the shape of flowers on the skirt. It was a beautiful combination of romantic and edgy.

Evening wear in particular was spectacular and there was something for everyone. For the minimalist lover there was the beautiful lime green gown with borderie anglaise at the bottom or a strapless, coral coloured layered ball gown. For a little bit of sparkle, a gold sequinned bustier worn over a matching skirt with embroidered sequins and ostrich feathers hit the spot.

I was also extremely excited to see Oscar's resin flower jewellery on the runway again. I remember I was so gutted when I didn't buy the red flower necklace and earrings a few seasons ago. This time around, I won't sit around waiting for sale. I'll just snap them up as soon as they hit e-commerce platforms. I'm currently crushing on the blue resin flower necklace with flat, dull gold leaves.

Oscar de la Renta knows how to strike a perfect balance. A technique not many can perfect. With so many different elements used in the collection; sometimes individually, sometimes all at once, nothing seemed excessive. Whilst this may have been a ready to wear collection, to me it almost looked like couture.

Oscar de la Renta SS 15

Oscar de la Renta SS 15

Oscar de la Renta SS 15

Oscar de la Renta SS 15

 

New York Fashion Week Round Up: Carolina Herrera, Tory Burch

Carolina Herrera SS 15

Carolina Herrera: Carolina Herrera was in a very experimental mood for next spring. Instead of the usual glitzy red carpet dresses made out of silk and satin, the designer turned towards foam fabrics for her creations with flowers being the main motif throughout. Garments were voluminous yet feather light with large digital blooms on most of them. There was also an oriental feel to the collection.

This was a very technologically advanced collection. For example, the gradient colour treatment on some of the flowers actually made them look 3-dimensional especially on the black knee length silhouette with a grey rose on the skirt.

The second last look consisted of a ball gown with mosaic style patches embroidered all over. Those patches were interestingly enough, made out of foam and were painted to look like a giant pixelated flower with leaves. The same foam patches in white were embroidered on a sheer white top and on a very funky, white architectural jacket.

Throughout the collection, it is interesting to note how the designer folds some of the fabric on silhouettes for added detailing. Examples include a skirt featuring beige linen side panels (with flowers of course) with a white panel in the middle that had origami style folds on each side,  a beige jacket with greyish lapels that were folded on the opposite sides and a boxy yellow top (paired with a matching skirt) with spongy rounded collars.

It is always exciting to see designers venture out of their comfort zone and experiment a bit even if it may be a little risky. In the case of Carolina Herrera, the experiment paid off. Big time.

Carolina Herrera SS 15

Tory Burch: Tory's collection makes me want to book a flight to the South of France right away! For the coming spring, the designer was inspired by Picasso's time spent with his lover Francoise Gilot at their villa in Vallauris. It also happened to be the birthplace of Picasso's interest in ceramics and a point of reference for Tory's collection.

The patterns from the ceramics were transferred on to multi-coloured knits, silks and cotton. Woven textures were crucial to the collection and were seen throughout in the form of crochet tops and skirts with tribal-esque prints. There was a certain rawness in collection with the fringed hems which is exactly what the designer wanted. "A play between raw and refined", to quote Tory. And there was a indeed a refined element to the rawness. A silk dress with blue and white stripes on the bust, a beige V-neck sleeveless top with abstract blue stripes and a fringed hem worn over a woven patterned pencil skirt were excellent examples. Shiny embellishments, in the form of a quill (that's what it looked like) came on a beige midi skirt and a summer jacket at the end of the show. I love pretty landscape prints, so the toile de jouy drawstring pants were a favourite. But more than anything else, it was Tory's crisp white shirts I'll be eyeing come spring.

When it came to the handbags, I've never been a big fan of Tory Burch bags. Perhaps Delhi girls butchering the brand by wearing monogrammed Tory Burch accessories created a bit of an eye sore. Either ways, I was happy to see that the bags for next spring were fresh and from what I could make out, maybe even logo free. There were colour blocked structured shoulder bags, semi woven bucket bags and knitted bags all very unlike the Tory Burch purses I've had an overload of in Delhi.

Tory Burch SS 15

Tory Burch SS 15

Tory Burch SS 15

 

New York Fashion Week Round Up - Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren's girl is going on a glamorous safari next Spring! Khaki coloured clothes were seen throughout the show and were crafted out of luxurious fabrics like silk, satin and chiffon. The show opened with utilitarian, khaki skinny cargo pants in silk and suede, bound to be a hit for SS 15. Paired with bright colours like a purple one shouldered draped top in silk in one look, or a lemon yellow trench coat in another, these trousers were suited for the day or night.

There were Ralph's versions of safari inspired looks all over. Some in all khaki, like the button down suede dress or an organza skirt paired with a waist length, thin, belted wrap jacket, and some in bright colours like the bright orange zip up silk jacket style dress. One cannot miss the slightly Indian influence on the collection as was seen with the Jodhpurs (the trousers that were fuller on the thighs). Especially the look which had a raw silk waistcoat worn on top of the jodhpurs. The best part of the collection was that most of the clothes could so easily be glammed up or turned into lux casual depending on the mood. Take the khaki and black jumpsuits for example, both of which were paired with colourful jewels making it perfect for a fancy evening out. Take the jewellery off and you can effortlessly wear it during the day.

Whilst most of the clothes seemed more on the conservative side, there were a few looks that were sexy as hell without being too in your face. Case in point, the cropped black sweater worn over a long black silk skirt held together by lace from hip to mid thigh and leather detailing.

Eveningwear was spectacular and consisted of a lot of interesting contrasts. The sporty bodice of the pink silhouette was juxtaposed with sparkling jewels and a tulle filled skirt. A heavily embellished yet light as air tulle gown was paired with a huge shoulder bag. A basic safari jacket was turned into a high collared floor sweeping gown (paired with coloured baubles of course).

Apart from the clothes, the accessories from this collection are going to be flying off the shelves. Be it the big, brown distressed leather belt with two pockets (who needs an evening bag when you have this?!) or the shiny jewellery or the gorgeous handbags (the orange croc bucket bag and the black croc tote nearly made me cry) from the collection; I say it would be wise to start a Ralph Lauren SS 15 savings account circa NOW.

Ralph Lauren SS 15

Ralph Lauren SS 15

Ralph Lauren SS 15

Ralph Lauren SS 15

Ralph Lauren SS 15 Bags

Ralph Lauren SS 15 Bags

Ralph Lauren SS 15 Bags

The cool girl's belt