Fashion Files Magazine: Ready to Wear

Top 100 Looks from NYC Fashion Week, SS '12

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Published on Saturday, 17 September 2011 12:34

Written by Anna Marevska

Fashion Week always has a distorting effect on people’s perceptions, designers included, noted Cathy Horyn of the New York Times during one of her reviews. 

The statement perfectly describes the state of mind New York Fashion Week had - the array of colors, materials and trends displayed were on overload. There were sports-influenced ensembles at first, then, asymmetrical summer dresses took the stage, followed by bold prints, and assortment of color.  Later on we watched linen and tweed paired with jeans walk the runways, bourgeois silks, floral skirts, all-white clothes, animal prints, Van Gogh-inspired collections, latex and even plastic.  

We scanned through thousands of photos and picked the best looks worth your time. Here's what we came up with in the list of Top 100 most coveted looks from NYFW. 

On top of our wish list is without a doubt Prabal Gurung, who flexed his designer muscles and looked beyond the SJPs in the world.  For Spring, Gurung took inspiration by Nobuyoshi Araki’s Sensual Flowers series and collaborated with a printmaker in London to create an outstanding motif of purple, green and black withering blooms appearing on dresses and pantsuits. Gurung also revealed his naughty side and sent lacquered latex -- most notably in the form of a coat -- as well as peek-a-boo dresses with sheer cutouts on hips or waists. This is Gurung's best collection as of yet. Simply outstanding.

The never-aging Oscar de la Renta also impressed with a fresh and rather youthful collection.  Who can forget the airy gold skirt and emerald silk taffeta that opened the show on Tuesday? We also loved the intimate runway he created in his new 42nd street showroom – a definite close look of the intricate wok of his collection. And the lace? It was enchanting, and appearing on T-shirts, blouses and skirts. 

Diane von Furstenberg makes it on our most coveted list for a second year in a row.  With high-profile guests like Velentino and Oscar de la Renta gracing the front row, DVF shined with a collection titled Beginnings. Even though she opened with all-white pieces and some prints, she focused mainly on exuberant florals. And it was refreshing to see the variety of floral patterns – from small white buds on blood orange jumpsuits, to green oversized flowers on white dresses.

There were, of course, many other noteworthy pieces that caught our eye: Ralph Lauren’s pale pink, Great Gatsby escapes; Marc Jacobs’ textural synthetics, like cellphone organza, fake crocodile and clear plastic; Calvin Klein’s burnt beige and cream loveliness; Proenza Schouler’s prints appearing as panels on skirts, trims on white blouses or embroidered on chiffon tops; Michael Kors’ safari adventure; Narcisco Rodriguez’s linen jackets; DKNY’s smart, urban silks and mullet-hemmed slip dresses; Phillip Lim’s refreshing, minimal and airy approach to Spring; Nanette Lapore’s accent on the industry’s obsession with neon; and many more. 

There were some personal disappointments, however, starting with Donna Karan. It’s hard to write about Ms. Karan in a negative fashion, and particularly after her outstanding and elegant Fall 2011 presentation. For Spring, Karan went tribal, something she’s done many times before. Granted this time inspiration came from Haiti, we wished we’d seen a different side of Karan’s designer abilities. Badgley Mischka also underwhelmed – from the glossy runway, to all the bows, to the models’ hair. Lastly, Rachel Zoe – we hate to say it, but she delivered more of the same. Blazers, Birkin lookalikes and more blazers. We were bored.