NYFW Spring 2014: Kye

Kathleen Kye the South Korean designer behind the label Kye made her debut last season at Concept Korea, a platform that supports young designers of Korean descent.

This season Kye stuck out on her own and presented a collection inspired by pained youth. Featuring bandaids emblazoned in gold and other shiny colors throughout the collection. There was a definite streetwear bent but also a small dose of sophistication that was reminiscent of Margiela, including the sleeves that tie into a skirt and the slightly bondage-esque buckles. Baseball caps shown with all of the looks gave the collection a casual urban feel. Thigh high slits and cropped tops with exposed midriffs were prominent in the collection but manage to come across as surprisingly appropriate. I would be interested to see what happens with this young designer as she grows.

NYFW Fall 2013: Louise Amstrupp

There are a couple of presentations that I stopped by that I never had a chance to get to so here is one more review for you. Louise Amstrup  is the London based designer who made her London Fashion Week debut back in 2009. Now to signify a new era Louise Amstrup presented in New York for the very first time at Milk Studios.

The collection was inspired by the 2004 documentary, Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea, that portrayed a ghost town in the Californian desert. The town was once lauded to become the new Palm Springs before ever increasing salt levels gave the area an odor of decaying fish.

Salt crystals, underwater sea creatures and coral became the inspirational elements that Amstrup drew upon.  The level of detail took a couture approach. The organza skirt shown above consisted of hundreds of hand-dyed organza flowers and took 850 hours to create.


My favorite pieces where those that were less worked and had a sporty edge with a net layer. The acid yellow and lilac prints looked great against navy, white, light grey and black. Softly rounded hips and rounded shoulders looked great as did the a-line silhouettes and youthful mini lengths. Marbleized nail polish, crimped hair, floppy hats and socks with silver ASOS heels finished off the look.

NYFW Fall 2013: Steven Alan

If I had to describe the Steven Alan Fall 2013 collection in a sentence it would be, "Wearable comfortable basics done right with just a hint of quirk". This is a collection that I could see a thousand New Yorkers wearing on my daily commute.

When it comes to the womenswear component there was a still small voice that took basics and styled them in a every signature Steven Alan kind of way. A shirtdress is layered over slim trousers with a turtleneck on top. A leather skirt is layered over a striped shirtdress with the shirttail peeking out at the bottom. A baggy shirt is only half tucked in to trousers with an elastic hem and topped with a jaunty scarf.




None of these pieces in their individual components would be so stand out, although very nice wardrobe building pieces. However when skillfully combined, you can see the Steven Alan woman emerge in the velvet, the nubby knits, the plaid, the windowpane and oxford shirting and in the leather.

My favorite looks are the leather skirt over striped shirtdress and the windowpane trousers and dress with trench.

While I am no menswear expert, I thought the men's presentation was very strong. Interesting subtle details like twisted plackets give a flair to the collection while soft wool, textured knits and fine wale corduroy give a lot of warmth.

Colors are muted in a range of greys, camel, olives and black with hits of burgundy and soft blue. Blazers and pants are cut on the shorter side for a informal look that is anything but sloppy. Layering throughout the collection reflected the womenswear and in a city like New York, just makes sense.

NYFW Fall 2013: Mathieu Mirano

The Mathieu Mirano presentation was held yesterday morning at The Box and even considering it was bright and early on a Monday the room was packed with fashionistas vying to get a peek at what this bright young designer had to show us this season.

Unlike last Fall, the collection seemed to be a toned down a notch. Sophisticated but a bit more restrained. Luxurious but quieter about it. The designer told Style.com that, “The collection is all about classic silhouettes executed in a new way.”

The color palatte was simple with a focus on blush nude and black with hits of black or gold shimmer in the fabric and gold toe shoes.

The strong message with this collection was geometry with very linear style lines and a bold grid pattern was prominent. Sometimes the grid was woven into the fabric while other times it was created through beading. Seaming details, strategic color blocking and piping in a rectangular formation only strengthened the statement for geometric shapes throughout the collection. Only one knit dress had  a slightly more organic feel as if there was a vein of gold running throughout the entire silhouette.


There was also a play on texture as plush fur was combined with delicate chiffon for a peekaboo effect. The play with texture and opacity continued with fur skirts paired with sheer knits, chiffon paired with crepes for a very sexy and striking look.

My personal favorite pieces were those sassy asymmetric dresses that were so thoughtfully executed.