Distilled: New York Fashion Week A/W '11

Here's a handy-dandy pocket guide to New York Fashion Week - Favourite runway looks, trend predictions and the stuff that didn't go over so well.  I'll be doing one for London, Milan and Paris every week so if you like this, make sure to check back next Friday for more catwalk overanalysis.


All photos from Fashion Gone Rogue, except photo 3, from Getty Images



From left to right, per row

Tartan galore: 1 - Y3, 2 - Rag& Bone, 3 - Libertine

Slick monochromatic tailoring:  4 - Jason Wu, 5 - Michael Kors, 6 - DKNY

Print clash:  7 - Proenza Schouler, 8 - Rodarte, 9 - Preen

Left-field details:  10 - Jeremy Scott, 11 - Marc Jacobs, 12 - Prabal Gurung

70's trend:  13 - Diane Von Furstenberg, 14 - Marc by Marc Jacobs, 15 - Rodarte

Trends from New York for Autumn/Winter 2010/11

YAY TRENDS

• Red - and LOTS of it.
• Pattern clashes - intricate patterns based on maths/science (as seen on Preen with their uniform polyhedra prints)
• Polka dots - as at Marc Jacobs.
• Texture tastic - not only will we be mixing patterns, we'll be mixing textures as well.  As seen at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler,
• Thigh-high split skirts - my legs say no, but my brain says YES!

NAY TRENDS

• Sheer tights - Is it just me or are they a bit, erm, Maggie Thatcher?
• Fur - on everything - on cuffs, on hats, skirts, everything.  I guarantee that someone will manufacture fur underpants and make a profit.  My personal stance on fur is pretty non-committal but the sheer amount of fur on the catwalks in NY seemed incredibly self-indulgent.  Some of the most original collections didn't use fur at all. 

NOTES

Pic 10 - Where would we be without Jeremy Scott?  The world would be a much duller place (and Katy Perry would have a yawning chasm in her wardrobe).  I think that his collections are best viewed on individual merits.  Example; this bikini/clear mac combo.  Not something I could ever pull off in real life (and the world breathes a sigh of relief) but pair the crystal-encrusted mac with some monochrome tailoring?  WIN.

Pic 11 - Marc Jacobs also works the clear clothing look, but this blouse is much more subtle.

Pic 15 - If you can hold a pair of knitting needles, you could easily knit this Rodarte jumper.  I wonder how much the retail will be?

What were your NYFW highlights and lowlights?

Black Swan Costume Controversy

Sometimes Twitter is great.  It is excellent for getting news as it happens, but it's also excellent for drowning in a sea of ill-informed statements.  It's like watching Jeremy Kyle if he could only shout in 140 characters at a time.

Case in point; the news that the Mulleavy sisters of Rodarte would not be credited if the film was nominated for Best Costumes (which... it wasn't).  People mass tweeted that Rodarte had been snubbed and that they hoped that costume designer Amy Westcott would hand over the Oscar to the Mulleaveys when Black Swan won (er, pre-emptive much?).

One of Westcott's original designs for Nina, via Clothes on Film

What I don't know about costume design in film could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. I do know, however, that it takes an army to do good costuming, which Black Swan has in spades.  Designer Amy Westcott gave a very insightful interview to Clothes on Film (read it!), which not only explores the process of designing for a film, but also details exactly how Rodarte made their contribution.

With all the negative press that Westcott has received, she's understandably a bit defensive when it comes to Rodarte, saying that "Controversy is too complimentary a word for two people using their considerable self-publicising resources to loudly complain about their credit once they realise how good the film is".

I might be missing something here, but since when did the Mulleavy's come out and complain about their credit?  Did they release a statement or quote that they were angry or felt snubbed?  I haven't seen a single article concerning the supposed snubs that involved a reporter or blogger talking to a Rodarte rep? It would seem that the media have created this controversy all by themselves.  Westcott is totally justified in defending herself and her work, but an unsupported attack on Rodarte's motivations only serves to diminish her.

The story is still evolving, so what do you think?  Is this a storm in a teacup or are Rodarte secretly PR evil geniuses?