Jezebel: the good, the bad, & the ugly (fashion week edition)

This Fall, We'll All Be Perfectly Princessy Ophelias Channeling David Bowie

Dodai — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:30:00 EST

Fashion week stomps on! Yesterday's collections included Derek Lam, Tommy Hilfiger, Reem Acra, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass and Zac Posen. The day saw lots of tragically romantic dresses (Ophelias on opium) and lots of skinny, menswear-inspired suits for women (David Bowie). Derek Lam's collection was dominated by dark colors, but instead of somber, the mood was deeply rich and romantic. Plush coats, matchy-matchy suits and party dresses for incurable flirts. Tommy Hilfiger's extremely simplistic, basic designs were almost too safe; Reem Acra whipped up whimsical red-carpet fantasies. As for Bill Blass, designed by Peter Som, there were polished, rich bitch outfits for uptown heiresses. Calvin Klein is designing for a future happening right now, and if you love minimalism, he delivers. For the maximalists (like myself): Zac Posen killed it with Disney-princess gowns and '80s goth-Lolita crinolines (the 8th grader inside me weeps for the pink dress!) Sure, his ridiculous shoes made model Karen Elson fall, (above left) but Diddy was there! To help her up! Jennifer and I designate the good, the bad and the ugly in annotated galleries located after the jump.

Derek Lam:

Tommy Hilfiger:

Reem Acra:

Zac Posen:

Calvin Klein:

Bill Blass:

Marc, Narciso, Behnaz & Monique Incite Mini-Revolutions

Jennifer — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 10:30:00 EST

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.

(Click on any image to begin gallery)

Narciso Rodriguez:

Monique Lhuillier:

Behnaz Sarafpour:

Marc by Marc Jacobs

This Fall, We'll All Dress Like Hooker Poet Socialites

Jennifer — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST

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.

(Click on any image to begin a gallery viewing) Proenza Schouler:

Halston:

Betsey Johnson:

Oscar de la Renta:

This Fall, We'll All Be Flappers On Acid In French Boarding Schools

Jennifer — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:30:00 EST

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.

(Click on any image in galleries to begin the show)
BCBG:

Nicole Miller:

Erin Fetherston:

Baby Phat:

Abaete:

Alexandre Herchkovitch:

Sass & Bide:

Rock & Republic:

Herve Leger:

DKNY:

Tracy Reese:

Diane Von Furstenberg:

Miss Sixty: