NYC Fashion Week: Wednesday 14th September

NYC Fashion week is almost over, but I am entirely looking forward to Londons week of glory. London is always one of my favourite, because I think theres more rock and roll and edgy style to the London collections. However, is still one day of NYC left to go and I have yesterdays collections to report on.

Anna Sui always brings this exotic oriental vibe to her collections, but manages to do it without alluding too much to direct details. She is another like Furstenberg to be noted for her amazing use of prints. I think she really works well with colour too. Royal purple with warm reds and monotones were key to this collection and gave the garments a very classic and expensive look.

I think what makes Michael Kors so great is that you always know his collection is going to appeal to a wide variety of people. His designs are high fashion, but are commerically wearable and many high street stores can directly use inspiration from him with ease. This year, Kors is inspired by Africa and tribal culture, which seems to be a large theme at NYC Fashion week. There were lots of animal and tie dye prints in this collection, but rich in design.

Again with white being a strong theme, J Mendel had some very classic pieces. I like how there was a contrast fabric in a lot of the pieces, against the white. Some of it would be a block colour and some patterned, which I think gave the white more of a dramatic impact. There were some gorgeous details in the pieces, particularly shirts and fitted maxi dresses.

With me loving my edgy garments, I decided to include these Wayne dresses too. Theres a lot of this kind of style dress I've seen so far.

NYC Fashion Week : Tuesday 13th September

Without a doubt, my favourite collection from this day was Herve Leger. I am such a fan of how he does bodycon dresses. They are unlike anyone else and the high street should really start noting how to incorporate his design style into their collections. I'd be out buying one in a shit. He uses metallics in a way too that looks classy, not tacky.

Rad Hourani I have mentioned before for his innovative coats. Though not very commercial, I decided to note him for his interesting and futuristic dress shapes.

For a softer look, my favourite feminine collection was by Narciso Rodriquez. His floating white sheer dresses were particularly worth noticing as well as his colour blocking techniques.

Sorry it has been a short entry today! I have had a very busy day at work and can barely focus anymore :(

NYC Fashion Week: Monday 12th September

I  was excited to see Rachel Zoe's collection , after seeing her A/W 11 and being very impressed. I love her show, which I watch religiously so It would kinda be a sin not to include her in my round up of shows from Monday. Delicate sheers and silks contrasted with some bright and bold patterns were what this collection was about. Of course there was a vintage feel as she is often inspired by her own vintage pieces. Again, another successful collection for Rachel.

 I chose Donna Karan for her Tribal inspired patterns and colour blocking. I thought it was effective and a lot more trendy compared to some of her other collections. The top dress is absolutely one of my favourites and I'd wear it in a heart beat.

The final designer I picked from Monday in New York was Rebecca Minkoff. Their is such a strong sophistication but it remains youthful and fun due to the bright pops of colour with delicate pieces. Each piece could easily translate into a retail scenario which is what makes the collection so good.

Look out for Tuesdays review soon!

New York Fashion Week: Sunday 11th September

Of course today was to be remembered for something a lot more than the brilliant design work on New York Fashion Week. Many paused to spare a moment for those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks.  I did wonder if it was slightly distasteful to continue with fashion week on this day but I suppose many people have to continue with their day to day activity.

There were a lot of shows I was looking forward to seeing on this day. Some did seem quite disappointing for me, but out of taste I'm not going to name names.

One who definitely delivered, and as always, was Diane Von Furstenberg.  Lets face it, there is no one that can combine prints in the beautiful way that she does. Today, I've been working on a dress design for Miso and am experimenting with ideas of prints for the skirt part that will fall in with the SS12 collections. Diane has been my initial point of call for this. I like looking at how she colour blocks prints in unique ways.

Now, ever since my Second Year conceptual fashion project, I have been obsessed with Yohji Yamamoto, which means I was keen to view his Y-3 collection on Sunday.  I can appreciate his Y-3 work because despite it being in a sense sportswear, he really puts his own great touches on it.

I am a big fan of L.A.M.B so I have to include some images from this. Gwen Stefani: what a talented woman. Her clothes are so her.

Amongst the others, there were great collections from Zac Posen and Derek Lam, and even Victoria Beckhams is beginning to grow on me.  After this fashion overload, I will be breaking from blogging tonight and posting up Mondays collections highlights for you tomorrow

New York Fashion Week: Saturday 10th September

It is always so hard to keep up with Fashion week as there's so many shows I love and I can't blog about all of them because I simply don't have the time with work. I try to select three or four each day, but that's not to say that there weren't other amazing collections on each day.

Helmut Lang has to have a mention for the Saturday shows. Once again, edginess to the next level but with a strong sophistication was produced. I always love the new shapes that are seen at these shows and the strong ideas that are given.

This dress is one of my favourite designs I have seen so far!

Band of Outsiders always do something different that is worth noticing. Their subtle but delicate prints this season really caught my eye, especially in terms of their placements on garments

Then for a lot more bold style prints, Jill Stewart was one to watch out for.  My favourites were the ones using the candy pink and mint green colour schemes.  I thought they were beautiful.

Finally, I would also like to mention a designer I had never heard of before and that was Prabal Gurung. I liked the way the psychedellic prints were placed with sheer panels and embellishments to create unique looks.

Thats my round up for the events on Saturday. Look out for a blog entry for yesterdays shows coming up pretty soon!

New York Fashion Week: Friday 9th September

frI'm not going to write loads and loads about the collections each day, but I'm going to show you some images of my favourite ones and give a brief description why.

The Row by Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen always impresses me. Though I did prefer the Autumn/Winter collection, this one is still strong. It is hard to create a bold and structured look just using white and I think they do it really well, creating strong, unique pieces.

Doo Ri's collection was also really tasteful and sophisticated. I love the way in particular the shirt has been constructed here.

Nahm clothing is stunning. It is trendy and suitable foe a youthful audience who want an edgy twist.

How they do it in Australia

I think Australia should be acknowledged a lot more for its design talents. We hear a lot about the Italians, the British, the Americans and the French, but Australia is home to a lot of talent.

Alice McCall does some feminine designs with a modern take on a vintage look. To be honest, I die for this dress. I think I will be scanning the internet at all corners until I find it. The colour and the detail is beautiful and yet it's a casual piece at the same time.

StyleStalker is a bit more well known and again, showcases some stylish and elegant pieces. Inspired by young Hollywood and 90s grunge, this collection is adorable and edgy at the same time.

Maurie and Eve add a unique twist to their garments but still remain feminine. All pieces are wearable and different to things you will have seen on the highstreet

We are Handsome are theeeee best choice for swimwear, with their exotic, animal themed prints creating unique looks and inspiring garments world wide.

Lonely Hearts provide a more rock chick vibe. I love their clothes. To work for someone like these one day would be a gift.