Due to time constraints I haven't had the chance to update you on my New York Fashion Week preparations, but I am in New York now and all is well. I got many invitations this season - around 27, and they're still coming in. I'm planning to attend ~23 shows and presentations, depending on how many the time will allow. In cases of schedule overlaps I'm putting first the brands that already invited me to their shows last season.
Due to the fact that I'll be attending least 3 events every day, I will have considerably less time to process photos and thoughts, so the upcoming reviews will probably be shorter than usual.
Today was the first day of fashion week. I attended the Nicholas K show at Lincoln Center and Katie Gallagher's presentation at The Standard.
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Nicholas K Fall 2012
The cowboy-inspired Nicholas K Fall 2012 collection by designers Nicholas and Christopher Kunz officially opened New York Fashion Week this morning, accompanied by Nancy Sinatra's "Bang Bang". I didn't get into Nicholas K last season, so I was excited about this show though it meant a 7AM wake-up call spiced up by extensive jet-lag.
Most looks consisted of heavy layers and neutral colors. There were oversized garments, such as long patchwork coats and fur-trimmed jackets, creating unusually structured silhouettes underneath which female models donned flimsy tops and dresses. Fringe, one of the biggest trends of the past two seasons, was prominent. It is apparently not going anywhere; have you noticed that recent trends have very long expiration dates (apart from fringe, I noticed today that a great number of girls at NYFW are still wearing Jeffrey Campbell Litas)? Is this a consequence of the fact that we can't afford to buy new clothes all the time? Whether you like fringe or not, in this collection at least it plays into the cowboy concept.
Models wore cowboy hats, wedges and over-the-knee boots. An accessory they used for several looks was a natural-size tortoise shell pendant necklace by Matthew Swope. I loved the designers' rendition of a fanny pack, though I don't know whether they intended it to be humorous: it's basically a double fanny pack worn on the back. Cowboys are way too badass to wear regular fanny packs anyway.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. I don't mind the cowbooy chic aesthetic and/or fringe (I live in Texas, after all) but the oversized hat and little elements here and there are turning me off. I'd like to check out those double fanny packs just to see how they go with the outfits!
As for fringe and long-living trends, I think that yes, trends are staying alive much much longer than usual because of money flow. I'm sure RTW collections have also been affected by the economy, somehow. People with money will always have money, whereas middle to upper middle class fashion-minded people have most certainly tightening up their belts. I don't know what percentage of RTW collections'annual revenue this type of customer comprises, but I'd bet is a substantial part of their sales. I can imagine it would be hard to push a spanking-new trend and sell it at a premium price in this economy.