A slew of edgy designers, both new and established, took to the runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. CultureMap was in New York to bring you the scoop on the who, what, wheres of eight stand-out shows, along with tips on how to wear the strongest looks off the catwalk.
TImo Weiland
Location: Lincoln Center
Opening Track: Clique by Kanye West
Spotted: Celebrity stylist Robert Verdi
Vibe: Urban prep schoolers play hooky, never get busted.
Runway rewind
The young-dude-duo behind Timo Weiland has grown up and taken to cutting clothes in fabrics and prints that evoke a sense of fearlessness.
Oversized houndstooth, oxford shirts with sheer panels, punky pastels and halter dresses were inspired by graffiti artist Keith Harring.
The designers are experimental, fresh and presented a spring/summer 13 collection with so much engaging print that you feel as though you're playing a game of magic eye.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Channel Brit school girl/boy punk with colorful houndstooth or herringbone.
Location: Lincoln Center
Opening Track: Eer by Vaal
Sightings: Kelly Cutrone, Joe Zee, Icona Pop
Vibe: Boho chicks go to the future in goofy glasses but stay true to their laid-back-chic roots.
Runway rewind
For the spring/summer 13 collection, sibling designers Nicholas and Christopher Kunz drew inspiration from the dark futuristic 1973 New York City film Soylent Green, which prophesized the city in the year 2022.
The '70s homage is evidenced by the large circular frames, stained-glass geometric jewelry and wedges, but to keep that point of reference from being over the top, models wore tousled hair and variations of hoods and headscarves that direct an observer's mind closer to the Middle East than New York's future.
The collection stayed true to the brand's consistently loose-fitting, bohemian aesthetic with breezy, layered monochromatic looks in soft jewel tones like powder blue, light green, copper and sand — a far cry from the structured cuts and digital prints that proliferated other runways during the spring/summer shows.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Your best bet is to find ways to break down the multitude of layers and find a few key pieces you'll love.
Location: Lincoln Center
Opening Track: I Love It by Icona Pop
Sightings: Paula Abdul, Margaret Judson of The Newsroom, Carah Faye of Shiny Toy Guns
Vibe: The vibrant color-blocking and cuts are perhaps a bit too current for ss13 collection, albeit a rad one. Milk maid plaited braids and knee socks? A nice bonus.
Runway rewind
Jackie Fraser-Swan, the designer behind Emerson, showed a collection that could be bought immediately. There are good and bad aspects to this. It's very wearable and very now — but it wasn't very surprising.
Her concept for spring/summer13 was driven by mixing the hard with the soft. Soft flowing skirts were paired with corseted tops (some leather), sheer knee-socks, and high-low hemlines abounded.
Fraser-Swan was inspired by "1970s horror films and modern day horror films such as Carrie ... The Amityville Horror ... as well as films written/directed by Rob Zombie ..."
Right. So at first glance, that's hard to see. But take another look at the flowing red dresses with peekaboo white details and you realize it's "s all beautiful with a darkness; just like pretty much all conventional horror movies."
Want to wear it off the runway?
If you pay attention to fashion, there's a good chance you're already mimicking these looks. Or go pick up a soft high-low midi skirt and pair it with a tough bomber and some stripes.
Runway rewind
Som offers sportswear for a woman with one eye toward rule-breaking fashion and the other toward elegance. It's a beautiful marriage of aesthetics that's best evidenced by a leopard jacquard skirt suit (previous slide) in the spring/summer 13 collection.
With this kind of range, Som's fashion-forward clientele extends far and wide, uptown and downtown.
The show also debuted a seven-piece collection with Earnest Sewn that infused Som’s prints onto the denim brand’s rigid fabrics. The fit of the denim was a bit boyish on the models, serving as a nice point of opposition against the pastel florals.
Other common silhouettes and designs included brocade, button ups, collars and pullovers, all in romantic, glittering tones.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Dream up your own fabulous Draper holiday (during which you would undoubtedly be hounded by papparazzi) and dress accordingly.
Location: Lincoln Center
Opening Track: Stop! by Jane's Addiction
Sightings: Russell Westbrook, Nic Cannon, Whitney Port, The Man Repeller
Vibe: Athletic gear gets reworked in sexy, structured cuts and light fabrics.
Runway rewind
Time to work on those obliques, ladies, because Richard Chai LOVE was only the second show out of the gate during Fashion Week, but it kicked off a week-long trend of midriff-baring silhouettes.
Sports bra-inspired tops paired with skirts, shorts and trenches nearly look like they could fit in on (the most fashion-forward, futuristic) tennis court without falling into the trap of being too "cute."
Jackets and trenches allude to athletic warm-up gear, and, to dress up evening wear, Chai pulled in holographic sequins and iridescent silks that encourage a walk on the edgier side of this spring.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Invest in a spring weather jacket. Chai's outerwear flirted between utilitarian and pretty in lightweight materials and pastels.
Rebecca Minkoff
Location: Lincoln Center
Opening Track: Live performances by Tennis and DJ Cassidy
Spottings: Lauren Conrad, Ryan Lochte, Annasophia Robb (the new Carrie Bradshaw), Kristin Chenoweth
Vibe: Irritatingly naturally beautiful girls on vacation in modernity.
Runway rewind
The stars and top models (Codie Young, Hilary Rhoda) came out for this one. Current indie band Tennis alternated playing with DJ Cassidy throughout the runway show. They easily transitioned back and forth from a live set to a DJ set, a testament to the easy, breezy unselfconscious clothing.
"She's a sexy tomboy with a bit of bon vivant," Rebecca Minkoff told Style.com backstage before the show.
Crisp, bright whites ruled, as well as accents of vibrant digital prints. White leather overalls took the cake as the most unexpected look, while showstopper Rhoda closed the show in a white minidress with a vibrant blue faded print and cut out back.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Save some dough and buy it off the rack. Who would've thunk we'd already be yearning for next summer...
Location: Standard Hotel
Soundtrack: Experimental performance by Ella Joyce Buckley
Sightings: Angela Pham of Gallery Girls "fame" and every major magazine photographer ever
Vibe: This girl is tough, but she's softening up by wearing loose, curvy silhouettes. However you'd be wise not to cross her; she'll kick your ass. She's way cooler than you.
Runway rewind
From the white sand runway to the austere black and cream color palette, Gallagher defies what you'd expect to see for a spring/summer collection. And her work is that much more brilliant for it.
The hair, makeup, nails and jewelry fashioned the models into dewey wood nymphs. But don't get carried away with that sweet portrait, because those creatures are not only clad in dominatrix-like swimsuits but ensconced in dark hoods and leather accents.
The materials in the collection — even the leather, which ranges from lamb to kangaroo — are soft, demure and sometimes sheer, balancing out a moody, minimalistic theme.
Specifically within the ivory pieces and separates, Gallagher expertly visits peplums and other classically feminine ideas, furthering her reputation for knocking form-fitting female clothing out of the park.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Pair her separates with leggings or over a dress — or simply raise your hood and remain strikingly anonymous.
Location: New York Public Library
Soundtrack: Ambient music by Mike Simonetti
Sightings: Kate Lanphear
Vibe: Making dresses badass through featherweight leather, geometry and origami-inspired draping with a cherry — er, hat — on top.
Runway rewind
From the show's soundtrack to the round stage, the presentation of Kao's spring/summer 13 line was nothing short of breathtaking.
Impeccable tailoring showcased brilliantly engineered lines in simplistic colors and almost mathematical seeming patterns: How could lines be so sharp, asymmetry so perfect?
Stacked geta-inspired shoes were worn by every model, whereas only some donned peak pitched caps (which, to me, are evocative of Japanese b-boy style and gave me a smile).
While this bold aesthetic may look masculine to some, the presentation utterly devoted to celebrating the female form without sensory overload like, say, music.
Want to wear it off the runway?
Pick anything. The collection is wearable, forgiving of many women's problem areas. Kao rightly calls it "a haiku collection — how to speak volumes with just a few words."
