NEW YORK — As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week kicks off today, we take a look at some up-and-coming designers who may not yet be on your fashion radar, along with established names, to get a sneak peek of what's planned for fall 2013. It's all in the inspiration.
"For Fall 2013, I was inspired by the ornate interior of the winter palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia."
"'Form that functions using luxury fabrics to create shape and form. Silhouettes that have structure; yet, are feminine." - Greg Myler, St. John senior VP of design
"For autumn/winter '13 I was looking at the structure and texture of beautiful aquatic flora and fauna, using it as a jumping off point for a color story and embroidery.”
"Global artistic expression informs the modern exotic with re-imagined shape, color and texture."
"This is a collection based on the principle of slowing down, take a pause, check your reality, pay attention. We are moving way too fast, and to best interpret our surroundings you simply have to stop; as in a state of stasis, the absence of gravity, take a pose — take in life, notice the details. Life has so much to show us in all the creative communities."
“Aerial maps, topographic lines; how at closer inspection these representations of our environment take on an almost floral like energy. We used these images as tools to create style lines; superimposing them on the human form and then recreating them through drape and patterning.”
For autumn/winter 2013, Ann Yee found inspiration in the Appalachian landscape through the artistic abstract expressionism movement. Drawing creativity from the Black Mountain College and the school’s countercultural philosophy and emphasis on learning through living, Yee explored the interplay between art and nature.
“I’m fascinated by mechanics, the bold geometry and graphic shapes created through flight. It is that raw power and beauty that is at the heart of my fall 2013 collection.”
Galindo based his collection on the AMC series, Immortalized, which debuts Feb. 14. It centers around taxidermy art.
"It is the essence of this show which I find so inspiring. I design, and my inspirations arrive from daily stimulation, from art, films, music, people, trials and tribulations. I use fabric, these talented individuals use taxidermy as an art form to create. With my fall 2013 collection, collaborating with these artists brings another dimension and detail to my work."
“This season I was inspired by two great Russian works of art: Kandinsky’s balance of color and the ornate lines seen throughout Catherine Palace.”
“My fall 2013 collection, with its architecturally fueled cocktail dresses, boldly textured tunics and color-saturated wovens, is an abrstract play on famed architect Ettore Sottsass’ signature totems.”
Dennis Basso’s 30th anniversary collection is a tribute to the great American fashion icons. Women such as Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness and Milicent Rogers embody the glamour, strength and elegance that has inspired him throughout his career.
"The inspiration of my fall 2013 collection is coming from a really sophisticated, couture circus that is touring around the world, having its first debut at the Strand Hotel NYC. Every piece represents a different character. From the lion tamers, to the assemblers of horses and, of course, the beautiful Perrot with Technicolor outfits and great ruffles."
Ovitz studied animals and insects with natural defense mechanisms and found inspiration in the intricacies of their innate built-in protection systems. Microscopic views of elements and squid ink round out the collection through bold patterns. Echoing nature’s most interesting defense mechanisms, Ovitz interprets her own protective systems in the autumn/winter 2013 collection.
“Never Forever is deeply influenced by the form of the male figure. That is what initially took hold of this collection, while developing, in the pattern process, and delving into what makes a man masculine - it took a turn at a certain point during the study, and the emphasis began to evolve into a shape which breaks barriers while maintaining what makes a man strong.
"The strangest dreams brought out the reaching for comfort in an attempt to explain the high collars, drapery and fabrication. The feeling of forever, yet knowing this will not last; the shapes, the fabrications - are sometimes undefined… that is Elliott Evan, and the known, unknown of male form.”
