CHRISTIAN SIRIANO
At Christian Siriano’s epic 10th-year-in-business show—it started 40 minutes late, with there were 71 looks—the show-stopping moment belonged to Danielle Brooks, star of Orange Is the New Black.
Wearing a peacock turquoise chiffon slip gown, she worked the entirety of the huge room within New York City’s Grand Lodge. She even swished part of the dress, to whoops from the crowd.
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Siriano marked his birthday with celebrity guests including Laverne Cox, Whoopi Goldberg, Meg Ryan, and Cardi B.
Just as with Chromat, Siriano is dead-serious about celebrating all body types and ethnicities. Diversity is not a watchword here, it's a lived and designed credo. And so, for the second day running, it was inspiring (when it really shouldn't be) to see his beautiful glamorous gowns showcased on all kinds of women. Indeed, Siriano is such a technically accomplished designer he knows exactly what dresses suit what kind of body.
There were reds and silvers—long gowns, short dresses, slinky dresses that clung, and flowing dresses that flowed. Men occasionally appeared in shiny gold jacquard blazers and shorts (which would indeed be a brave wear come Monday morning's big meeting). Most beautiful were the 'midnight glitter' gowns that sparkled as their name might suggest, and another set of dresses so intricately beaded and made that they fizzed like fireworks.
Happy 10th, indeed.
SON JUNG WAN
Known for her interesting use of textures, embellishment and forward thinking silhouettes, Son Jung Wan’s clothing are highly desired by those in the know. This Saturday, her show was light and bright, and the crowd was a mix of high-fashion-istas and cool street style.
Wearing a vintage gold Oscar de la Renta dress, audience member Leah Snow, a wardrobe stylist, said Wan “does really interesting things with fabrication, and takes it into this really interesting architectural level.”
Set to 1980s dance music, the models walked the runway in what felt like an ombre procession of looks. Wan’s collection moved on the models beautifully, and was a mix of fur, silver lamé, bejeweled and bell bottom trousers, soft sequined knits and appliqué. — Sarah Shears
Fur trimmed oversize take on the boxy iconic Chanel jacket was worn by male models.
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A sparkly tiered knit cape dress shimmered and shined as it was walked down the runway, but was definitely a piece that only a select few could pull off gracefully.
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A lovely yellow asymmetrical ruffled dress with a fur trimmed collar fluttered gently as the model sashayed down the runway.
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An entirely silver ensemble with a robe jacket and lame trousers might just be the sign that the trend towards gold is coming to an end.
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesTAORAY WANG
Business, business, business: Taoray Wang showed a brisk collection of dark colored jackets, and mostly sober tailoring. However, the mischief was in the detail: the nude tops under suits, the long shirts worn beneath jackets, the red belt around a tight suit, the fluffy sleeves on a formal jacket. Bursts of color and eccentricity came from long military-style coats in red, and beautiful, soft green jackets topped with furry epaulettes. — Tim Teeman
TELFAR
Telfar Clemens won the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award this year, and many turned out for his presentation to see what the fuss was about.
Before the show started, the packed crowd was restless. It was 45 minutes past the scheduled start, and the line out in the cold was so long, my line mates worried they would succumb to nipple frostbite. After it ended, those same cranks whispered to each other, “Oh my god, that was mesmerizing.”
The show was titled “Music,” and opened with the great Dev Hynes solo on a keyboard. The models, some trained musicians and some not, sang their way to the stage to join in, and the show closed with the designer surrounded by his performers, all chorusing their gratitude.
Though it was also a concert, it was still a fashion show as well. The clothes were sexy and confident, deeply felt and peppered with unexpected cuts and angles. Elbows were exposed and sleeves flapped behind the performers like capes.
Everyone else will have a runway concert next year—Telfar has made a career out of doing things first, experimenting with unisex design and alternative merchandising long before it was cool.
Next Monday through Wednesday, the label is having a “commercial birth” where customers can vote for the clothes the want. The birth will be hosted on the 2nd floor of lower Manhattan’s Century 21 discount clothing store, described in the show’s literature as “the final resting place for all fashion.” — Brea Tremblay
JONATHAN SIMKHAI
