LYRA MAG.

LOVENIA VASSILISA, BRADLEY SCOTT, LOVENIA-MORE GLAMOUR FROM EDITORIAL "IT" DESIGNERS September 5th, 2008-Garment District, 1PM It’s always worth our time to visit showrooms, particularly the well-edited collections repped by, ta-dah-ÉDITÉ SHOWROOM: SPRING ’09 PREVIEW VASSILISA, BRADLEY SCOTT, LOVENIA Words, Images Judith Ecochard and Edite Showroom September 5th, 2008-Garment District Colorful prints in a delicately ruffled diaphanous gown (reminded us of Ossie Clark) drew us to the racks containing other garments by the upscale label Vassilisia . A one year-old London based line created by Central St. Martens graduate Nadja Solovieva, Vassilisa is named for “THE BEAUTIFUL” Russian fairy tale princess heroine. Glorious oversized silk scarves and dresses in, of course, intricate prints-are exceptional. Given the intricacies of the graphics, the collection is available in a limited edition (or bespoke). INFO: VASSILISA BRADLEY SCOTT: We’ve written about Bradley Scott’s reso...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly & Laura C. Wood Images of the be ECO CHIC show, Casi Densmore-Koon Images of the Geo Art and of Cynthia Gale, courtesy of Geo Art by Cynthia Gale Images of the ECO CHIC Global Launch Event, Casi Densmore-Koon Image of the be Eco Chic invitation from www.beecochic.com THE CLASS TRADE SHOW TIME/PLACE: August 20, 2008 at the Santa Monica Convention Center The event had some wonderful extras we hadn’t expected at a trade show such as an incredible massage courtesy of the OC SPA located in Huntington Harbour, California. If you can’t get there for one of the massages you can however order one of their adorable eco bags online for well under $100. This is a great price point especially in the eco market which tends to have a bit of a higher markup. CROC CONNECTION Also well-priced are OCEAN MINDED’s eco flip flops. Believe it or not, Ocean Minded is owned by CROCS, although they originally started out as a cause driven company to clean up the beaches and oceans. The...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, Dan Lecca, Courtesy of Mercedes Benz TIME/PLACE: Saturday, September 6, 2008, @ 6:30pm The Salon at the Bryant Park Tents, NYC THE VIBE Pretty in pink and girlishly sweet. The candy pink dresses that opened the show established the tone. There was some delicate Swarovski embellishment on the Waltz dress and some more serious sparkles in the gold and enamel starfish jewelry pins and necklaces by Sequin. SILHOUETTE – most of the skirts were on the short side and a bit eighties glam, remember those fitted minis and pussycat bow blouses? Verrier didn’t show that blouse but rather in another bright eighties color [acquamarine] with a ruffled front and an indigo lace hooded jacket, lightly embellished with Swarovski crystals. Ruffles and lace aren’t easy to work with, but in this collection, they didn’t look at all old lady-like in the least bit. The strongest pieces were an ivory boucle bolero and a ruffled charmeuse blouse. To read more about Verrier, visit t...

CONTEMPORARY URBAN COLLECTION WITH GLOBAL APPEAL September 10th, 2008 – Eyebeam- West 21st Street, NYC Words, Pics by Judith Ecochard We were so totally jazzed by the Berlin fashion designers we saw this past July... that we were more than happy to check out the RTW collection of one of Germany's top up and coming labels, MACQUA. And we're happy to say Meike Vollmar, the brains of the brand-got it (mix/match cool clothes) RIGHT. The fashionistas will soon catch on...after all, this was a strong outing of wearable, trendy short dresses, belted mini trenches and skirts, high waist trousers, and can wear with denim- tops with a shine…and the fiercest oversized satchels we saw all week. We got a chance to chat with Vollmar backstage after the show. A striking, model like woman, Macqua’a color palette was inspired by a “trip to Morocco” this year. The largely black/white and earth tones of the clothes were cut with a sexy swagger…which has earned the designer boatloads of accolades...

“SOCIALITE” LABEL GROWS TO OUTFIT STRONG WOMEN/STYLE ICONS- FROM NANCY DREW, THE PRESIDENT’S WIFE, HOLLY GOLIGHTY… MRS. DALLOWAY Sunday, September 7th, 2008 – West 26th Street, NYC Words, Pics by Judith Ecochard We skipped Fall 2008’s showing by Tuleh…but are meaningfully glad we trekked over to the Forbidden Zone -west of 10th Avenue- for this outing of forty posh looks. Happily, the show started late…because we were. Reviewing the handouts, we got a kick out of the decidedly literary/political slant of the ensembles’ names- with heroines from past and present. As in the “ The First Lady” (Michelle, we assume )- a belted bow dress …followed by several expertly fitted feminine frocks in solid colors. In fact, all of the strong female personalities- that inspired the straight on, head to toe elegant (and a few rockin’ blouse/pants glittery) garb… by designer Bryan Bradley---would probably look terrific in many of these outfits. THE SHOW: We thought the stunning fabrics were highlights...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, courtesy of Paul Wilmot Communications TIME/PLACE: @ 2:00PM, Saturday, September 6, 2008 The Seminary at 20th Street between 9th/10th Avenue As this was a Paul Wilmot event, there were a lot of heavy hitters in attendance: Linda Fargo, Robert Burke, Dawn Mello, Ken Downing, Bill Cunningham, to name a few. HAIR/MAKEUP: Odile did the hair but we’d love to know who did the hats? They were adorable Rastafarian style pancake hats that gave a bohemian/carefree look to the easy colorful collection. FUN & UNEXPECTED There were some out of the ordinary pieces here, such as the sleeveless dress and a mini skirt with some bubble gum detailing worn with a simple white tank and some fun jewelry by AURELIELIE BIDERMAN for Adam Lippes. TEXTURES/COLORS There was lots of sheer voile as well as some prettily delicate pieces in an ecru crochet knit that looked best in the longer silhouettes, Most of the color was restricted to the lemon yellow and fuchsia patent leather ...

THE TRADITIONALLY TASTEFUL & A FASHION FORWARD EFFORT BY THOM BROWNE FOR BLACK FLEECE September 10th, 2008 Madison Avenue/45th Street Words, Images by Judith Ecochard Brooks Bros. is as American as apple pie. Their multi-hued polo shirts and button down dress shirts-for men- are in closets across the country. Womenswear by this label has been refreshed up a bit, as of late…but the real deal fashion news hit when menswear designer, Thom Browne , was signed on as 'guest designer" to helm the Black Fleece line of upscale garb. For Spring 2009, Black Fleece serves up a modern twist on the Brooks Bros. classic seersucker suit-this time its double-breasted and long tail tux versions. Glen plaids, and lightweight grey wool fabrics are cut slightly narrower than a typical BB’s suit jacket…and are set to retail from $1800 and up. Ladies get some appropriate separates like a double knit grey cardigan, punched up with white piping and an organza paisley skirt paired with a bowed sil...