'New York Fashion Week ReCap'

3.1 Phillip Lim SS11

And another New York Fashion Week has come and gone, but not without its own highlights:

3.1 Phillip Lim

Proving that aprons are not only for the kitchen, designer Phillip Lim sent a collection of varying top lengths on the runway that critics claimed was “one of [his] best and most refined collections to date.”

The designer experimented with garment construction, employing a mostly neutral palette with a few classic blues, black and white for some change. Lim incorporated sheers in his backless and side-less concoctions, which he paired with leather, organza and black lace.

Highlights of the Spring-Summer Collection included an organza top edged in black and decorated in black bobbing thread, worn over sage pants; a sheath dress in an abstract print with a geometric insert at the midsection; and collared tunic dresses in liquid-like transparent.

Anna Sui SS11

Anna Sui

Anna Sui channeled the 1970s on the West Coast with crochet dresses, paisley print shirts and homespun knit sweaters. Marking the 20th anniversary of the Anna Sui empire, the Spring-Summer collection was true to the print-loving, bohemian designer.

There were patch skirts and crochet tops accessorized with feathers, apron dresses edged in ruffles, denim jumpers, paisley print shifts and handkerchief hem dresses with fringe. Except unlike the artisanal wares of the seventies spun from affordable fabrics like cotton and wool, this collection was far from thrifty. Linen-lined tulle, flouncy chiffons and lace made this one collection not likely to ever wind up to a second-hand store.

Alexander Wang SS11

Alexander Wang

The fledgling designer opted to start on a clean slate for Spring-Summer, beginning his collection with all-white deconstructed looks with cargo styling and strips of gold. The collection was a deviation from Alexander Wang’s suited, Wall Street-inspired collection of Fall-Winter.

Wang emerged with cool green and silver (eventually evolving into a canary and terracotta palette), sportswear with a metallic sheen and splashy prints. The construction theme was evident in the carpenter pants in see-through whites. And to further drive the motif home, white splashes of paint accessorized the models’ hair.

The designer, who owes his success to his off-duty model street fashion, did rework in some of the Wang favorites: the motorcycle cross jackets and vests, the skinny sweat pant, and skirt with fold-over flaps.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of style.com

'Siriano From the Sea'

Standing at only a few inches taller that I, it was Christian Siriano’s short, wiry frame that caught my attention in an East Village thrift shop last June.

Having skimped out on the recent installments of the ‘Project Runway’ series, it took me some time to realize that the familiar face at Buffalo Exchange was the show’s winner from its fourth season.

The 23-year-old wowed judges with his sophisticated and detail-driven designs, winning the most challenges than any other contestants before him. Today, Siriano elicited the same reaction from a celebrity-studded audience at his Spring-Summer 2010 fashion show in Bryant Park.

Rising from the foamy sea, the designer’s Venus emerged in a glimmering white tailored suit and large brim hat. The churning of the Mediterranean Sea, which served as his inspiration, washed up in the skirts and jackets – a blend of aqua, green, blue, white and black.

In Siriano’s favorite nude colors, models wore beaded bodices that gave way to a lavishly draped, origami-folded organza skirt. His signature ruffles hugged the necklines and waists of satin dresses. There were flounces in the shoulders, subtle pleating and balloon hems to add further volume to his eveningwear.

Model Alessandra Ambrosio and actress Mena Suvari applauded the satin-faced organza gowns, an explosion of romantic ruffles in a blush and then a molten earth color – Venus had made her way to the Italian coastline.

At a time when other designers prefer black leather and studded accents, Siriano presented a collection that was tranquil and fluid, as cool as a dip in the ocean would be. It was an interpretation praised by his most loyal critic/mentor Tim Gunn, who equated the young designer to “this generation’s Marc Jacobs.”

Gunn told the press: “I feel like a proud dad.”

As for the shoes? The teetering models stood on vertiginous platforms with a sharp, claw-like heel. According to the Associated Press, the shoes mark his third lineup for his campaign with Payless.

Now that’s fierce.

-S. Gonzalez

*Photos courtesy of style.com