New York Fashion Week Round Up 1

(Victoria Beckham post show with Anna Wintour in the front row - look at the relief!)

For those of us who find the idea of the end of summer hard to tolerate New York Fashion Week always comes at the most perfect time.  Not only is there the excitement of the event, the peekaboo tweeted backstage photos, and the inevitable party gossip, but you can also immerse yourself in the looks for spring/summer next year and focus on short shorts and sleeveless shifts, even as the grey autumn clouds gather overhead in London. At Glass Pineapple we're always on the hunt for new unknown designers and brands. We get ridiculously excited about breakthrough names and we love a fashion revelation. But we're also stuck on our old loves - designers we have adored for years and those that have just keep pushing the boundaries with each new collection. This year, our hungry devouring of NYFW has been no different - here are a few of our highlights so far:

(Peter Som SS13 pic from www.stylebistro.com) 

Peter Som was working ladylike imperfection, applying florals and pastels to Bermuda shorts, pencil skirts and tailored short sleeve buttonless shirts, with blue hues from pastel to sky.  Som’s embellished pointed collars and thick gem encrusted cuffs on short-sleeved shirts were particularly covetous.

(Jason Wu SS13 pic from www.modelsblog.info)

At Jason Wu it was fetishism vs. humanism – think a tough looking black leather bustier with a cream draped chiffon skirt. There was leather and lace, tailored organza and braces worn like S&M harnesses, with elbow length gloves that were stocking sheer.  We also saw the odd peplum, high waisted shorts and a darker, more sinister take on florals.  Short, side swept sleek hair and scarlet lips, along with the fetish take, gave the catwalk a naughty hint of a Berlin sex club.

(Liberty Ross in Alexander Wang pic from www.greenwichtime.com) 

At Alexander Wang the models were clad in urban tough gear with leather trim on collars, zips, lots of exposed seams, and the kinds of laser cut outs that seem to defy gravity.  Wang’s ladies were wearing skeletons of boots – strips of leather running down the back of the calf, under the knee and in a double T bar shoe, or seemingly constructed from strips of masking tape around the calves.  This was the show that provided the most gossip worthy news so far, with Liberty Ross walking the catwalk and a theatric finale of neon knits.

(Victoria Beckham SS13 pic from http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk) 

Victoria Beckham produced a collection full of Broderie Anglaise and short A-lines mixed in with her signature knee length tailored dresses. Her collection was much more lighthearted than in previous years with tangerine breaking up the monochrome palette and (shock horror!) FLAT SHOES! in the form of open toe booties by Manolo Blahnik.

(Top: Rebecca Minkoff SS13 pic from www.fabsugar.com.au; Bottom: Ostwald Helgason SS13 pic from www.zimbio.com)

Ostwald Helgason was a delightful riot of print and colour – coral, yellow, bubblegum pink - with oversized pockets on the skirts and sleeveless shift dresses with starched collars.  Whilst over at Rebecca Minkoff there was a lesson in how to do ‘hipsters on holiday,’ with crisp white, sky blue hues and florals on print shorts suits and luxe sporty tracksuits.

(Rachel Antonoff SS13 pic from http://style.mtv.com)

Rachel Antonoff’s Spring 13 presentation in Chelsea, attended by the lovely Lena Dunham with a freshly cropped haircut, was super sporty (models even had tennis racquets!).  Alongside block heeled jelly shoes, preppy separates there were candy stripes and shirt dresses with cute collars and cuffs. Antonoff’s collection was partially inspired by Brenda Patimkin a character from Philip Roth’s book, Goodbye, Columbus.  “She’s like a country club girl, but she doesn’t give a sh*t.”

(Rag & Bone SS13 pic from http://twenty2.onsugar.com)

Finally Rag & Bone took inspiration from the Dakar rally with motor cross inspired quilting, and their signature slouchy tapered trousers, fuller flared skirts, tailoring and blazers, crochet petticoat hems, oversized shirts, and flashes of lime green.

Across many of the collections, florals made a frequent appearance, as did collars (pointy not Peter Pan) – embroidered at Peter Som, sporty at Rachel Antonoff, floral at Rebecca Minkoff and leather at Jason Wu and Helmut Lang.  We saw hats and headpieces aplenty – pilgrim hats at VB, clingy net headpieces at Peter Som and structured net at Jason Wu.  Colourwise, lime green was seen at Rag n Bone, blue virtually across the board, and shades of orange/tangerine on numerous catwalks from the colourful collection of Ostwald Helgason to the otherwise muted pieces at Victoria Beckham.

That should keep us going for now - still J Crew, Vivienne Tam, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Vera Wang and Badgley Mischka to go and at the end London Fashion Week! (and breathe…)