'Cause You Got To Have Faith'

The ten minutes before the fashion show was supposed to start, were spent sprinting across Union Square Park to the Altman Building on 18th Street – thanks to all the service changes on MTA that has made riding the subway an absolute waste of time.

It was a rocky start to the Manuel de la Cruz FW2010 Collection, which coincidentally opened against some rock music.

There is much to tell about this up-and-comer, whose collection titled “Revelations” took a modern spin on classically tailored suits, coats, cocktail dresses and separates. His clothing is geared towards the feminine, yet busy woman and the sexy, masculine man who doesn’t mind a little color and embellishment.

This time around, Manuel de la Cruz moved away from his dark color palette, incorporating white, gray, mauve, red, navy blue, green and camel in wool and silk blends.

The collection did not veer from the usual play of religion and faith. More interesting was the influence of Mayan art – translated into a strapless brocade cocktail dress and Mayan graphics on the backs of men’s jackets.

Manuel de la Cruz was born and raised in Guatemala, and as a Latino, has a strong connection to his Mayan ancestry and Catholic upbringing.

The designer left Guatemala as a teenager, studying fashion in Milan and Florence before making the move to Parson’s in New York.

Specializing in tailoring, he moved on to work for top New York-based labels like Narciso Rodriguez, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, DKNY and others. Manual de la Cruz launched his first collection five years ago, teaming up with partner Brian Levy and forming mdlc & co.

The designer again enlisted the help of Pablo Escobar, who supplied the shoes, crowning headpieces, statement necklaces and the jewel-encrusted leather sleeves, gloves and ear pieces.

But Pablo Escobar was not the only to create the element of shine – a series of Manuel de la Cruz’s men’s dress shirts included what appeared to be sequined patches on the shoulder and embroidery work.

My personal favorites: the burgundy wool jacket paired with the green gabardine men’s trouser; the red gabardine woman’s trouser and the silk faille cocktail dress.

All in all it was a smooth, marketable collection with excellent tailoring, making Manuel de la Cruz a designer to watch for this year.

As for me – I skipped the subway and took a smooth cab ride home.

-S. Gonzalez

For more about the designer and his vision, visit manuel-delacruz.com

*Photos by S. Gonzalez