The best of American fashion for fall and next winter debuts at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week beginning Thursday. In advance of fashion's biggest celebration, we asked established designers, as well as promising up-and-comers, to tell us what inspired their collections and offer a sneak peek of what to see on the New York runways and eventually in stores across Texas.
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Designer: Christian Siriano
Inspiration: "Parisian photographer Fernand Fonssagrives and his work with light and shadow on the female body were the first inspiration for my fall/winter 2014 collection. His photographs were high in contrast, graphically powerful, and celebrated the female figure."
Designer: Elie Tahari
Inspiration: “Ray of light”
Designer: Monique Lhuillier
Inspiration: “Fall 2014 is inspired by graphic architectural detail and old world French Parisian couture techniques while also incorporating a dark romantic side.”
Designer: Herve Leger by Max Azria
Inspiration: Wild and untamed
Designer: Nicole Miller
Inspiration: This season, Miller was inspired by "female warriors, in the sense of powerful women. I used a lot of iconic images from movies and history for detail and fabric inspiration."
Designer: Cesar Galindo for Czar
Inspiration: Houston native Cesar Galindo's Czar by Cesar Galindo fall/winter 2014 collection is about altered states of style and further mixing social, active and career with ease.
Looks reflect blurred lines of patterns, static weaves, optical graphics, jeweled prints; silhouettes of wide shoulders with fitted hips, box boleros, jackets, body conscious dresses with an underlying look of Asian Kimono influence, Far East modernism with a baroque opulence.
Designer: Bibhu Mohapatra
Inspiration: Tibetan terrains
Designer: Carmen Marc Valvo
Inspiration: “Minarets, mosaics and armor"
Designer: BCBG Max Azria
Inspiration: Assertive Design
Designer: Rebecca Taylor
Inspiration: Fall/winter 2014 references Parisian street artist Philippe Baudelocque and the use of dimensional layering of textures and patterns. The idea of fragile work in an urban environment plays on the rare complexity of unexpected pairings of colors, techniques and fabrics.
Designer: Barbara Tfank
Inspiration: Ripe, verdant blooms and deep rococo richness, complemented by refinement and restraint.
Designer: Angel Sanchez
Inspiration: “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” - Oscar Wilde
Designer: Tadashi Shoji
Inspiration: Moorish Palaces by Moonlight
Designer: Douglas Hannant
Inspiration: Galactic
Designer: Gant Rugger
Inspiration: "The collection is influenced by the Japanese take on #menswear, a bit romanticized (as always) but still very true to whom we are, standing steady on our American Sportswear ground always pushing the envelope." — Fifi Hallstensson, head designer
Designer: Son Jung Wan
Inspiration: “For fall 2014 I was inspired by the abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko, who articulated colors of emotions.”
Designer: Raoul
Inspiration: “We continued our research into the arts, and for fall winter '14 we became fascinated with the Wiener Werkstatte movement for its geometric and abstract elements which spanned from furniture to jewelry and clothing at the turn of last century. We also looked at John Chamberlain's sculptures, and these inspired us to work with crumpled gold and silver metal ornaments which are a key feature in the collection. These textures in turn made us think of meteoric rock and space, which ultimately defined the celestial elements and prints of the collection.” – designer Odile Benjamin
Designer: Desigual
Inspiration: “Fall 2014 our senses awakened to the city’s overlooked curiosities and magic—and tempt us to fall in love again with the places and things we think we know, but have more to offer than what lives in our imagination.” - designer Manel Jadraque Desigual
Designer: Rachel Roy
Inspiration: Fall 2014 explores nature deconstructed through an infrared lens. Menswear-inspired elements, hand-painted prints combined with geometric lines and a saturated color palette commends the modern woman.
Designer: Rita Vinieris
Inspiration: "This season, I am inspired by the magic and mystery of the color spectrum. How energy comes from not on the colors of the spectrum, but the darkness between the colors. That balance of blackness and brightness like a splash of fireworks igniting the night sky or the amazing Aurora Borealis exploding across the heavens."
Designer: Dennis Basso
Inspiration: "My inspirations are some of the great American contemporary artists interrupting their extraordinary creativeness into my fall 2014 collection.”
Designer: Yoana Baraschi
Inspiration: "The Laidback Diva." A blend of ease and power chic.
Designer: Kotur
Inspiration: "Curiosities and Collectables”
Designer: Tia Cibani
Inspiration: A tapestry of tart colors, rich textures, blurred prints and pleated shine.
Designer: Mathieu Mirano
Inspiration: "I work with Trompe l’oeil in mind - the sense of taking what’s been created before and manipulating it. Tricking the eye."
Designer: Ann Yee
Inspiration: "An urban dweller with a nonconformist perspective and adventurous spirit."
Designer: Gilded Age
Inspiration: “Dark was the night”
Designer: WHIT
Inspiration: "This fall 2014 collection is our take on Scandinavian art, folklore and woodlands." - designer Whitney Pozgay
