Some behind the scenes look at the preparations
Text, Vivian G. Kelly
Backstage Photographs, J. Ecochard
Runway Photographs, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
Timestamp: Friday, September 7, @ 5pm
Location: the Flatotel, 135 West 52nd Street, NYC
We previewed the ten collections the day before at the Flatotel, where Simon Ungless, AAU’s Director of Graduate Fashion and the show’s Executive Producer and the student designers were putting the final touches on their collections.
Saturday, September 8, 6:20pm
Location: Backstage @ The Academy of Art Show
The big tent, Bryant Park
A student show it may be, but the cast of supporting actors are all well-known professionals from the models to the hair makeup artists from the well-known Workgroup agency.
The hair: easily one of the most interesting hair-does of the week.
The look: 1930’s artist meets Janis Joplin
Hair lead, Tokyo [no last name] has been doing the Academy show for @ ten years. Said Tokyo, “It’s a progression, this time we wanted a bit of a rock and roll edge crossed with a crimped forties style.”
He was spot-on as the highly textured hair was right in synch with the clothes in which texture and design were of paramount importance.
The Academy of Art Show, later that evening, shortly after 7:00pm
Kathryn Scully
The inspiration: family vacations to Cape May.
While described in the program as “a beachwear collection of bikinis” the stars of her show were the scrumptious fine gauge cashmere loungewear pieces to wear AFTER you get out of the pool or ocean. After a long day running around New York attending shows, we longed to go home and relax- in her striped wrap hooded top and blue cashmere shorts.
Kenneth Ning,
The inspiration: the Champion Italian soccer team, Forza Azzurri.
Mr. Ning already showed the collection in April in Academy’s San Francisco show, the New York show was stronger. Mr. Ning already knows a thing or two about producing a commercial collection. He’s already sold several pieces of his collection to a magazine editor from Russia. There was lots of patent leather, which was aptly inspired by the patent leather of a soccer ball. Each look featured beautiful tailoring and an excellent sense of color. Of special note, the navy blue patent leather trench and the flawless grey suit paired with a fuschia knit top underneath. He toughened up his classic silhouettes by accessorizing his guys with white leather Converse high-tops, a good choice as his soccer playing thug has innumerable pairs of trainers in his closet and would very rarely wear any other type of footwear
Yi-Ting 'Maxim' Lee
The inspiration: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, a manga written & illustrated by Hirohiko Araki
What really worked - Ms. Lee’s one of a kind sweater jacket, which was completely wearable and ready for retail. It rivaled or exceeded any of Angela Missoni’s knits. The substantial knits looked great paired with sexy seventies style leggings. While handcrafted items like this don’t come cheap, and take time to produce, like a Hermes Birkin bag, you’ll treasure it and wear it for years to come.
Kyung Min Kim's
The inspiration: Childhood fairy tales
Ms. Kim has taken the frump factor out of the traditionally staid housecoat and she’s right on target for Spring 2008 as housecoats and patio dresses are making a big comeback. Our favorite, the black shirt collar long sleeve dress with a print of horses strolling in front of the castle.
Min Sun Lee
The inspiration: Russian Matryoshka dolls.
Like the Russian models that have dominated the international catwalks lately, Ms. Lee’s terrific knits took the cake. Her polka dot knit sweater dresses with matching motorcycle helmets drew praise from even the toughest editors in the crowd and were just flat-out adorable. We were hard pressed to come up for a favorite, as we loved all eight outfits she showed.
The take-away: It seems that students these days are of course focused on being creative and innovative but are also giving serious thought to the potential salability of the designs they create. And it's a good thing, because if they move on and become designers, someone has to buy and wear what they've designed.