Dressful

Naeem Khan's Fall 2012 collection is inspired by the decadence and dust of India. The wind shed dust along the way, leaving us only with black, gold, silver and white decadence. Runway lights bounced off body-hugging dresses embellished with glass mirror pieces. One-shoulder frocks with big bows balanced film star glamour with frolic. Like Reem Acra's Fall 2012 collection, this one too was made with exclusive occasions in mind.

The Indian inspirations (most notably paisley patterns and tilakas - Khan said in a recent interview that designing the collection began with a single dot) were translated to garments through several ancient artistic techniques used on bodies and textiles. I think preserving old techniques in an age when modern techniques have taken over is tremendously important because it ensures that these branches of fashion, as well as people's knowledge and skills, won't go extinct. When they get recognized globally, at a major fashion week, so much better.

Naeem Khan was the first show at New York Fashion Week, not only this season but in general, where I had a seat, so I was very excited to snap photos of it:

I declared this the best possible Valentine's Day gift.

In 2012, the year of the dragon, it seems only natural that Mathieu Mirano's Fall 2012 collection is brimming with Chinese inspirations; there were dragon heads hanging down from the ceiling at the presentation just like Katya Leonovich's paintings a few days ago. Mirano showed at New York Fashion Week for the first time. From my experience, in fashion it's important to be different (so people notice you), but not too different (so people still understand you), and I felt that this is exactly what Mirano accomplished with this collection. The Chinese motifs are not taken too literally (the opposite of which you can sometimes see even on the biggest runways - so easy to put a bunch of different prints on the qipao, no?), giving the garments a look that is both regal and contemporary. If the empress from The Curse of the Golden Flower were alive today, she would wear Mathieu Mirano.

Reem Acra Fall 2012 began with a prelude of classy dark ensembles and skirt suits spruced up with leather opera gloves in brown and black, but I'm going to remember the show for the glamorous, gold, beaded glitter dresses that closed it. They are meant to be worn at Hollywood award ceremonies (if that's considered the height of glamour these days) because not even New York Fashion Week runway can do them justice. What I appreciate the most about Reem Acra's collection is its multifunctionality: it introduced looks you can wear to the office, to a party (that super sexy little number you can only rock with killer stems) and to the Oscars, staying cohesive and not developing in several directions that ultimately have nothing to do with each other. The most intelligently versatile collection I've seen at fashion week so far.

When I attended Katya Leonovich's Spring 2012 presentation at New York Fashion Week last season, I couldn't bring myself to write about it because I thought I hated it. Giving myself some time to think, once fashion week was over, I realized it was one of the best collections I'd seen and that I actually loved it. I think I was confused because Leonovich's Spring 2012 collection encompasses every single characteristic I usually dislike in fashion: at a first glance, it's a disarray of materials, an unruly explosion of colors, inspirations and themes.

In fact, the garments' excellent structure serves as the element that unites everything else into a seamless whole. This is also apparent in Leonovich's Fall 2012 collection, in which she showed architectural pieces ranging from romantic (ruffled chiffon dresses) to aggressive (dress with a big spike on the hip). Some models wore hairstyles reminiscent of the 1920s, proving my assumption that fashion designers continue to be inspired by this era. However, the main inspiration behind the collection is New York City. Leonovich's paintings (she's also a painter, hence all the splashes of colors in her collections) depicting New York buildings hung down from the ceiling. New York is a melting pot as much as Leonovich's collections are, so once again everything comes full circle.

The presentation evoked a strange mood in me (also thanks to dreamy songs that played throughout, such as 2Wicky by Hooverphonic, which mentally transports me to Stealing Beauty, one of my favorite films), so I wandered aimlessly around Lincoln Center afterwards, contemplating New York at night after a long, busy day. Fashion week is much more chaotic this season (I don't remember having to wait 30 minutes to get into presentations last year) and arguably less enjoyable in that there are too many people trying too hard; girls in 8-inch heels with hunched backs, boys wearing studded sunglasses indoors, that "JE DETESTE RODARTE" sweater, lots of cakey make-up. "Every rose has its thorns" rings especially true for fashion week. However, as long as I'm enjoying the collections (which I am), that's all that really matters.

For Fall 2012 Ann Yee introduced knit sweaters, asymmetrical tops and shawls in muted colors; taupe, grey, olive green, brown, violet and - surprisingly - no black, which allowed for a softer overall impression (See, winter can be done in other colors). Yee used silk, lace, chiffon, wool and velvet. I'm fond of silk for fall and winter though it doesn't keep you warm; it has the kind of elegance that I feel aligns perfectly with these seasons.

The collection is very "rebellious teenager", cue Doc Martens (at times even the models stood pigeon-toed and acted goofy), but a well-dressed one. The clothes are smart enough to suggest that this teenager isn't rebelling without a cause; this also ensures they would still find place in her closet once her rebellion phase is over.