Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week/NYC
Lincoln Center: The Theater
Backstage images/words-Judith Ecochard
Runway images/video MBFashionweek.com
Snow storms
whatever---we knew how good the selected talented designer/students are---all recent graduates-or about to be-from the San Fran based Academy of Art University---who have consistently delivered a show-these past few seasons which should be on the metaphoric speed dial of fashion retailers ---!
AND plenty of media peeps we ran into over the weekend-who did go to this AAU outing, maybe for the first time in a few seasons---were surprised just how "retail ready" the runway ensembles were. We weren't though...not a bit. And when we saw NY Times' fashion journalist Cathy Horyn backstage-looking at the racked clothes with approval---ha ha---
SEE.
Prior to the show, we caught up with lead hair stylist Jon Reyman (for
beautyvt™) who was actually all smiles except for the one pic we took for some reason...
The look: smooth, smooth smooth-with height at the crown- hair blown out board straight, gathered in a high ponytail... front part teased, smoothed-then all joined together.
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| in theory-hair style could be done at home by one person---w/o a fashion show w/o team |
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| Aveda products-including Volumizing Tonic helped get the look |
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| freebies backstage included Bath and Body Works body lotion and hand sanitizer. |
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| Bravo to Smasung-kept us all charged up |
THE make-up by Janessa Pare for Aveda Academy of New York was interesting- the "orange eye' kinda had zombie inspiration we thought...while the smoky sensuous eye for the "black eye" that had steely coal grey sparkle to it...some gals more grey than black-depending on skin tone.
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various skin tones made this editorial look of
| orange shadow above and below the eye--- like a raccoon's mask |
very different- |
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| silvery shadow, black liner---drawn out in almost a cat's eye shape...loved this for an evening look--with glossy rose lips, peachy bronze cheeks for sculpted look |
We had a few minutes to chit chat with some of the designers too-who all were rather cool as a cucumber---which we can def not say is the case with some of the more seasoned pro's....
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| Heather Marie Scholl |
Heather Marie Scholl rocked her clothes and "through her garments,...sought to explore the often sexually obsessed nature of the queer culture and the duality of pain and glamour that can come with it..."---as she was inspired by glam/punk music scene. IMO fittingly timely ---with "that' having a moment via the David Bowie Is archive soon on display at the
Victoria and Albert Museum in London...and the Punk Chaos to Couture show at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art/NYC.
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| fuschsia wool jacket |
Born and raised in Portland, Oregon...she earned an MA in Fine Arts in Fashion and Knitwear Design...
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| orange and electric blue hand beaded wool shorts -also inspired by African beading... |
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| Heather McDonald |
Next, we talked with Heather McDonald-a Fashion and Knitwear Design Student-hailing from Canada. Her Fall collection "... was inspired by Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis-exploring the relationship between human and technology, demonstrated by the angular silhouettes and contoured knitwear..."
We thought the beautiful sculpted knits-including the elegant rounded shouldered sweaters made of Black Angora wool---lovely---paired with dark charcoal wool pants or skirts...and ready to wear that very night-given the blizzard blowing through town.
A duo of talent-designer Janine M. Villa-a NJ native paired up with Knitwear Design MA-er Amanda Nervig-courtesy of the pairing by Simon (Ungless-Director of Fashion...who "... put us together...it was great ---we have the same work ethic...")
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| Janine M Villa and Amanda Nervig |
Sophisticated craft---Villa was inspired by vintage Welsh blankets---using the rich textures and colors to make the timeless classic designs---including want it blanket coats, jackets and vests...reminded us of the Native American Navaho blankets that are made into clothing.
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| Nervig's hand made chunky knits were also inspired by the colors and patterns found in the vintage welsh blankets |
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| James Thai, Leah Aripotch and Teresa Field holding the former's hand cast bronze 'carry-all' |
The nano-second we saw this etched bone leather jacket---we knew the front-row dwellers who would actually be able to visually grasp the material and detail--- would utter at an audible "wow"...(and they did in our section, fyi).
A trio of talent was responsible for these luxury pieces that would easily sell toute de suite at some high-end boutique...
Designer Teresa Field---a smart, smart lady, incredibly articulate---(Stanford grad/ MA Fine Art in Fashion Design))...was "inspired by artistic representations of the human body, including graphic representations of human anatomy and musculature, as well as the process sketches from H.R. Giger's "Alien."
Once again-"Simon" referred---the talented James Thai (a Textile Design Program student) and jeweler Leah Aripotch (Fine Arts BA in sculpture)---who "just clicked" with Field for this terrific collaboration.
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| front of etched bone leather pant |
James Thai created these custom leather textiles for Teresa Field's collection---including 'burning' these intricate designs. We asked what happens when he burns too dark---seems like a touchy thing to do-given the material---he laughed and told us he "creates flowers."
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| back of etched bone leather pant |
Unfortunately we missed two other designers...Yuming Weng-a M.F.A. in Fashion Design student-with a stunning heather wool collection inspired by Henrietta Harris' soft distorted portraits...
Chenxi Li-who took inspiration from the fashions of the 1950's-featuring exaggerated silhouettes and voluminous shoulders and sleeves...
AND Qian Xie---inspired by the ways in which natural light creates shadows in interior spaces at different times of the day---interpreted into geometric silhouettes.
www.academyart.edu
The look: smooth, smooth smooth-with height at the crown- hair blown out board straight, gathered in a high ponytail... front part teased, smoothed-then all joined together.
Unfortunately we missed two other designers...Yuming Weng-a M.F.A. in Fashion Design student-with a stunning heather wool collection inspired by Henrietta Harris' soft distorted portraits...
Chenxi Li-who took inspiration from the fashions of the 1950's-featuring exaggerated silhouettes and voluminous shoulders and sleeves...