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Fall-Winter 2011 RTW Highlights: How to Brave the Cold!

February 14, 2011

After a bitter cold winter in the streets of New York, luxe layers, ponchos and winter puffers came in anticipation of a cool winter ahead.

Alexander Wang Fall-Winter 2011 RTW New York Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2011 kicked off last week and trends are already starting to emerge - layered looks, long skirts (including some worn over pants), off-the-shoulder tops, neutral hues, and wideleg pants.

Derek Lam

The designer built his collection around a particular quote from the choreographer: “There are no new steps, only new combinations.” That meant tweaking classic American sportswear, which Lam did with new fabric combos (cotton with linen-like canepa; silk poplin and nylon) and reworked proportions and silhouettes. He lopped the sleeves off of a spare coat and curved the hemline so it dropped slightly in the rear, while a long anorak with mink sleeves was clipped in the back for a slight tailcoat effect. Meanwhile, fall’s layering motif, executed to tidy and minimal effect, allowed for a play on lengths. Case in point: the poncho, cropped high in the front, layered over a longer sweater. Pops of bright red — underneath a coat collar or the sleeves on a moto jacket, for example— punched up the appealing if mostly safe collection. But by show’s end, Lam let loose with a series of Grecian flyaway dresses, pleated and draped, including a charming silk chiffon number printed in plaid.

DKNY

Is it a surprise that in the dead of the worst winter in recent memory, the New York collections have had a major outerwear focus? At times and temperatures like this, a coat is your outfit — just look at all the editors bundled up along the runways this season. There were endless excellent choices on offer for next season at DKNY. Donna Karan did them tailored and graphic, like the black styles with a bold white panel across the chest, adding a little edge with leather sleeves. Toward the end there were knit puffers and furs, such as the cheetah print shearling. With the exception of the tailored cape jackets that were meant to be thrown over the shoulders just so — but begged for somewhere to put your arms — it was all sharp and suitable for everyday use. Same goes for what was worn underneath. Karan worked up chunky knits with a peppy tomboyish flare: bright cardigan dresses and slouchy striped crewnecks were worn with tailored trousers, tapered and flared. The collection had range.

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham showed her 100th dress during her presentation at the grand Upper East Side townhouse where she showed her confident autumn/winter 2011-12 collection. As well as looser silhouettes in rich sunset tones, she showed plenty of desirable arm-candy from her handbag collection and debuted her first shoe collaboration with Christian Louboutin.

Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang is a busy boy these days. With his first ever stand-alone retail space opening soon and fresh from winning GQ's Best New Menswear Designer of the Year award, it seems almost implausible that Wang would have time to design an entire collection to present this week. A key element of the collection was the use of technologically advanced fabrics that combined knits and woven silk in a single piece. These were obviously more expensive fabrics than most designers have access to, but didn’t I just read in New York magazine that Mr. Wang is buying a $2 million apartment in TriBeCa? He can afford to go luxe, even with his sunglasses, the stems of which were wrapped into fur headbands.The front row was beset with the necessary celebrity quotient, most notably Kanye West and Alicia Keys (who snuggled up next to Anna Wintour for a paparazzi-crazed photo-op), and while the venue was remote and the weather bitterly cold, throngs of people rushed to see Wang's next move. He definitely rose to the occasion and made a forceful statement reminding the spectators of his reigning title of purveyor of cool - a savvy move considering his impending store opening.

Diane Von Furstenberg

“American Legends,” the theme of Diane Von Furstenberg’s collection, could have a number of meanings. It could have been a reference to her coterie of pals from broadcast news who were at the show, including Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters, or perhaps a different sort on the other side of her horseshoe-shaped runway, like Fergie, or perhaps to herself. The runway was lined with mirrored poles that began to revolve once the show began. Get your mind out of the gutter! Not that kind of pole. They were flat on the sides, so you couldn’t get a good grip.

The clothes instead suggested Ms. Von Furstenberg and Yvan Mispelaere, her head designer, were looking to the pioneering spirit of the West. The program said, “… muses and artists … travelers and settlers … always pushing the boundaries with strength and panache.” There was a big variety of sportswear in the show, with layered sweater ponchos, jumpsuits with a black-and-white pattern of spades shown with a heart-shaped belt-buckle, gauchos trimmed with gold buttons and woolly alpaca vests. Many of the models wore suede knee-high cowboy boots, some trimmed with suede fringe. For evening, Ms. Von Furstenberg closed with long sequined evening gowns. A red one was backless, and a black one was a floor-sweeping take on her signature wrap dress.