Street Style

Another New York Fashion Week has come and gone and I am still sorting through photos from the week. I’ll be posting about a dozen reviews this week including a post featuring the shows of designers that we’ve featured in the UPcoming section: Timothy K, Dawn Han, Ann Yee and Alexa Galler’s Eighteenth.

But the first few collections I wanted to share are some that have a decidedly downtown vibe translated into completely different aesthetics –at least one of which you’re sure to fall in love with. (Click on their names to go to my fuller review/images)In the order of the show schedule:

Katie Gallagher

If you read this site you know I’ve been a fan since day one and this hasn’t changed. As a relatively young designer from RISD, Katie had some haters who claimed that all she makes is leggings only appropriate for her enviably thin frame. However if  you’ve actually been watching her development what you see is a quietly formidable designer who is developing a unique aesthetic. Shorter and more form fitting is juxtaposed against longer and looser and her jackets are f***ing amazing.

Jen Kao

Out of the 4 collections here Jen Kao’s is easily the most eclectic and also the most wearable. She is as fearless when it comes to mixing prints and textures as she is with mixing the East & West references. An insanely sequined jacket paired with a brocade pant or schoolgirl plaids with a severly cinched waist. Her designs define ‘je ne sais quoi’ -or at risk of cliche- effortless cool and to me, very New York.

Kevork Kiledjian

When you click on “THE HOUSE” on his website the following words fill the screen: Contrast/Leather/Opposite/Harmony/PASSION/Addiction/Freedom/Adrenaline/Lace/Sensuality/MYSTERY. This seems as good of a description of his aesthetic as any I could write. The recently transplanted Parisian presented a collection of mostly dresses that seem to dare you to live life more fearlessly, play with addictions and embrace freedom and passion. An assertively sexy collection, it demands boldness from the wearer and feels ageless. Neither catering solely to “it girls” nor grand dames it seems to invite both groups and all women in between to become Kiledjian women.

threeASFOUR

threeASFOUR are the veterans of the group having been on the scene since ’98 and in their current formation since 2005. Yet despite, or perhaps because of their longevetity they felt the freshest.

With fashion show tickets now for sale to the general public (or at least American Express cardholders) at both Lincoln Center and MiLK and fast fashion at H&M getting as much attention as major runway shows the  stereotype about NYC being the overly commerical fashion center is getting frighteningly close to true. threeASFOUR, with their intricate and innovative designs show that you can push boundaries without sacrificing quality of the work. Using materials like mushroom colored felt, platinum leather and rubberized wool they create beautiful clothes that remind me of what fashion can truly be and why I fell in love with it in the first place.