New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2013

5 collections that rose above, and 1 that fell into a rabbit hole

Ralph Rucci1Ralph Rucci
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In reviewing the collections from this past week, I’ve come up with what I consider to be the top 5 houses, and one totally misguided effort.  This was a season that had no one direction – each designer that excelled had their own distinct vision.  The two prevalent ideas on the runway that I came away with were that dressing had a little more ease to it, and that bold colors were often combined in most unusual ways.  In the end, it all seemed to make sense.

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Ralph Rucci

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Ralph Rucci 2Rucci offers the ultimate in modern dressing.  It was chic, sexy, sophisticated, and the most wearable collection of the week.  For Rucci there are never any bells and whistles.  He makes bold statements with crisp shapes that are innovative and easy to wear.  The shoes were Ralph Rucci for Manolo Blahnik, and were incredible – especially the knee-high clear boots with satin tips.  For me, they were out of this world fabulous.  Here are 2 more looks I think are stunning.

Ralph Rucci 4Ralph Rucci 3Treat yourself to the entire Runway Collection

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Carolina Herrera

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Carolina Herrara1In this collection Herrera paid homage to 1940’s glamour – from the fur-trimmed pieces to the hooded sequined evening gown.  The collection left me feeling like I was watching Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and the rest of the ensemble cast from the 1939 Hollywood Classic ‘The Women’ stepping onto the runway.  It’s one of my favorite era’s in fashion, and Herrera nailed it.

Herera 2Herrara3…………………………

Prabal Gurung

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Prabal Gurung1For this review I can only think of adjectives; utilitarian, functional, powerful and brave.  I would be scared to run into one of Gurung’s version of the modern-day Glamazon in a dark alley, and although I loved this collection, I feel Gurung is still trying to find his niche in the fashion community.  He is one of the brightest young stars on the scene – I’m hopeful that in his next collecton he’ll be able to connect the dots between his new work, and his work from previous seasons.

Prabal Gurung2Prabal Gurung 3…………………………

Michael Kors

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Michael Kors1Kors consistently gives us the absolute NYC girl.  The collection is urban chic, with a nod to mod.  The bright-colored suits, coats, and dresses trimmed with black leather were in a word, fresh.  I loved the over sized knit cardigan trimmed with leather and shown with leggings.   It’s a perfect fall look.  The short sexy mini dress with the peplum over skirt were spot on for any night out on the town.  I see the trendy girl from downtown, and the classic upper east side lady working any of these looks seamlessly.

Michael Kors2Michael Kors3…………………………

 

Narciso Rodriguez

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Narciso Rodriquez Rodriguez offered a collection with a new mixture of colors, with a looser silhouettes, and a  narrower sleeve – which were a departure from his past collections.  As always he excelled in his bias cut and trapeze dresses.  I loved this new Rodriguez collection.  Easy to wear, for the woman who knows who she is.  Cool, collected, classic.

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And now for the severe miss of Fashion Week…

Thom Browne

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Thom Brown1This collection was busier than Michele Bachmann’s husband at an all boys summer camp.

I felt like I was watching a wardrobe fitting for Effie Trinket from “The Hunger Games”, or The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland (ala Helena Bonham Carter).

I understand Browne is still on a high from dressing the first lady for the inauguration, but he’s clearly getting ahead of himself.  I feel a designer needs to have a larger body of work under his or her belt before putting out such an un-wearable collection.  Frankly, I find this collection misogynistic.  If you’re angry at women, find a therapist instead of punishing the doyenne’s on Park Avenue.

Having said all of this I must commend him for having a strong creative vision, but honestly, I don’t see any woman wearing any of these pieces.

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Do you think I’ve been too harsh on Mr. Browne?  Is there something that I’m missing?  I’d love to hear it if you think I’m totally off base.

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Written by Anthony Costa

All images courtesy Style.com