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Nicky Hilton is one of our favorite not-a-fashion-designer-fashion-designers. Because she doesn't even have any real claim to fame other than being Paris' sister. (Even Lauren Conrad talked her way into a lucrative reality TV deal.) Yet the girl keeps on trying, telling herself she actually has a "career." Her fall collection for Nicholai by Nicky Hilton, which just showed at Los Angeles Fashion Week, is 1) better than a lot of the shit we've seen from LA Fashion Week and yet 2) seems to be a blatant rip-off of the equestrian looks that dominated several seasons ago and the current obsession with those American Apparel faux-leather leggings. The combination of these two? Baffling. Select looks from the Fall/Winter 2008 Nicholai collection for your review, after the jump. More »
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Paris Fashion Week is underway, and the Frenchies, we fear, think the end is near. (Are things really that bad with Sarko et Bruni?) Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Junya Watanabe and Viktor & Rolf all presented variations on a futuristic post-apocalyptic warrior: Owens riffed on his signature layering to create a battleground look, Yohji turned Revolutionary War soldiers into an army of darkness, Junya Watanabe matched architectural suiting with snug headpieces, and Viktor & Rolf paired luxury and surrealism to create a contrast between whimsy, luxury, and nihilism. Vivienne Westwood also rebelled, deconstructing garments to reveal skin despite layers, colorful and bright fabrics distracting from the ominous nature of the almost-monsters she sent down the runway. (Also, she had kids paint on the clothes and accessories. Which is pretty badass.) And then there was John Galliano for Dior: Galliano went in the opposite direction, deciding that when the going gets tough, the tough revert into real-life Barbie dolls (above left). You have to see it to believe it, really. Annotated galleries of selected looks from each designer, after the jump. More »
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Prada is, always, the biggest show of each fashion season. No one manages to be ahead of the trends quite like that PhD-holder Miuccia Prada, whose wares women love and men can't even find remotely sexy. Prada's looks are always "intellectual" and "provocative," but not in the bullshit way those terms are usually banded about: She plays with ideas, perverts expectations, and — sorry, menfolk — knows more about sex than Dr. Drew and Sue Johansson combined. Her fall/winter 2008 collection was done nearly all in lace. But no frou-frou doily shit here. Oh no: This was lace for tough chicks. Dominatrixes never had it so good. Annotated gallery of selected images — there was a black model! — begins below, with the critics' rave reviews after the jump. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=358690&view=rss&microfeed=true "[H]is child/woman vintage looks had grown up beautifully....The collection was solid but never stolid...after trying to prove with last season's artsy complexities and boudoir transparency that he could match experimental international designers, he did something in this show that was actually much tougher. He gave a fresh and original polish to streamlined American style. It was a redemption for Jacobs and for a dull New York fashion season." So sayeth frequent Marc Jacobs-hater/International Herald Tribune fashion critic Suzy Menkes of the designer's Fall/Winter 2008 collection, which started exactly on time Friday night, thankyouverymuch. Annotated gallery begins below. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=354944&view=rss&microfeed=true Founded in 2000, Alice Temperley's Temperley London label is all about fusing boho style with a dash of sophistication and a pinch of punk sensibility, and her Fall/Winter 2008 collection, shown late yesterday, played heavy on the rock 'n' roll sensibility. Leggings of all sorts (pleather, velvet, super-shiny) were seen under frocks that billowed at both long and short lengths. Bowler-hats polished things off, making for a Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean femme-butch sensibility. Especially in that red-and-white striped dress: Ahoy! Gallery begins below. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=353981&view=rss&microfeed=true Marchesa designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig are known for much more than being in bed with Hollywood. (Chapman is married to film producer Harvey Weinstein and there are always rumors circulating that the reason so many starlets wear Marchesa on the red carpet is because Harvey demands it of them.) Their over-the-top eveningwear designs are never dated, always decadent, and frequently divine. If you love the almost-absurd glamour of the Marchesa label, than this season's offerings will not disappoint. Ruffles and tiers and feathers: Oh my! From their signature Grecian draped gown to full skirted sculptures, the Fall/Winter 2008 collection is luxe (and only a little laughable). An annotated image gallery of the looks you'll be seeing this fall on the red carpet begins below. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=353859&view=rss&microfeed=true Anna Sui's first runway show was in 1991, and since then, the designer raised in the suburbs of Detroit has launched fragrances, cosmetics and a limited edition Barbie, all with her signature eclectic style: A mix of girly and ethnic, flea-market funky and babydoll-swing. For fall, Anna's serving up deep, rich colors, tons of texture and a dash of whimsy, in outfits seemingly inspired by gypsy foreign exchange students and Hollywood-style Native Americans. Check out the 10-image annotated gallery, below. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=353532&view=rss&microfeed=true At this point, Michael Kors is probably better known as the judge who says outrageous things on Project Runway than as a real, working designer. But real and working he is: Although it did have its Boca Raton moments, Kors' fall/winter 2008 collection shown earlier today stuck to the contemporary, casual luxe formula that's become synonymous with the designer's name. The long dresses in particular were good enough to eat! (We'll pass on the suits and capri leggings, though.) An annotated 10-image gallery begins below. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=353391&view=rss&microfeed=true Nanette Lepore is known for designs heavy on the frills and tight on the tailoring; garments for sleek mommies and poised, aspiring ones. Her most recent collection, however, fell a little short. The separates were nothing special: One too many a horizontal stripe hugged a hip, and bold prints seemed more tacky than adventurous. A 10-image gallery with further commentary begins below. More »
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Four major labels — Marc by Marc Jacobs, Behnaz Sarafpour, Monique Lhuillier, and Narciso Rodriguez — showed their fall looks late yesterday, and though the collections seemed, at first, completely different, there was a major thematic similarity: namely, that they played against type. Rodriguez, celebrating his 10-year anniversary, worked with images from his own archives, playing with his signature body-conscious dresses and adding in some new silhouettes like boxy suits and jackets. Lhuillier, best known for her sophisticated yet playful eveningwear, upped the ante with looks that were less pretty and more punky. Sarafpour funked it up this season, sticking to her traditional shapes but infusing them with a rebellious palette and unexpected textiles. And as for Jacobs, well, he proved that he still has it, despite the naysayers who suggest otherwise: his diffusion line was youthful, vibrant, fresh, and never sophomoric. After the jump, Dodai and I annotate 10-image galleries of the good, the bad, and the ugly. More »
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=353196&view=rss&microfeed=true My name is Jennifer, and I'm a Rodarte-aholic. OK, so I don't actually own anything Rodarte, but I really, really wish I did because I just can't get enough of sister act Laura and Kate Mulleavy's ethereal designs, which look like they're patched together with cotton candy, fairy wings, and the high spirit of Art. The Fall/Winter 2008 collection seemed to be comprised of all those things, as well as a butterfly wing here or there. Or perhaps the looks were watercolored by a naughty woodland nymph? This may make sense if you look for yourself in the gallery that begins below. In a nutshell: It's beautiful. More »
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It looks like the dress' dominance on the runway isn't waning anytime soon, or at least not based on yesterday's showings by Oscar de la Renta, Betsey Johnson, Halston, and Proenza Schouler. While the boys behind Proenza offered expertly-draped and cut trousers as their stand-out items in a decadent fall collection (poet), it's still the silhouette shrugged-off by Hillary Clinton that proves to be most popular. Oscar de la Renta showed his usual luxe looks, a rich man's Dr. Zhivago fantasy (socialite) while Betsey Johnson seemed to be traipsing through the archives to create an 80's punk-meets-50's-Beatnik-meets hooker aesthetic. The newly-revived house of Halston made an exceptionally strong showing, expertly referring to the line's original looks and shapes, while avoiding looking dated. (And hell — even original Halston muse Liza Minnelli showed up for the show!) Dodai and I evaluate the collections in 10-image galleries that begin after the jump. More »
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New York Fashion Week kicked off on Friday at the tents in Bryant Park, and in the ensuing three days, plenty of big-name designers have given us their vision of what women can look forward to, sartorially that is, once winter passes, summer swelters, and the chill sets in again. Designers as disparate as Diane von Furstenberg and Baby Phat played with the idea of the modern flapper: Dropped hems, deco styling, thoroughly modern (Millie), all of it. But if heading for a night out at your local speakeasy is not your thing, fret not: Fashion-minded females can always play prim and proper (and somewhat naughty) by embodying the French school girl chic shown at DKNY and Tracy Reese. After the jump, and using ten representative images from each show, Dodai and I weigh in on The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from these shows (and others) following Fashion Week's first, incredibly exhausting, weekend. More »
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