Michalsky Shows In Switzerland

story by Wolfgang Wöhrle and Charles Beckwith
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle

Our modaCYCLE team in Europe has taken a strong interest in the work of designer Michael Michalsky. Already quite well known in Germany, his shows being dependably the highlight of Berlin Fashion Week for a while now, he is branching out a bit and recently showed selections from his Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 collections together in a small introductory sort of show in Zurich, Switzerland. This buyers review in the Swiss commercial capitol is his first show with the Michalsky label outside of Germany. … Continue Reading

5 Minutes With Yoana Baraschi

story and photo by Sandy Ramirez

While hanging around Saks on Fashion’s Night Out, I noticed a woman dressed exactly like the mannequin next to her. She turned out to be designer Yoana Baraschi, standing outside her in-store mini-boutique (one floor above Chanel’s, right at the elevator), wearing a piece from her Fall 2009 collection. … Continue Reading

Elite Model Look 2009 – Swiss Finale

story by Boris Marberg
photos by Wolfgang Wöhrle, Boris Marberg, and Alexander Palacios

The finale of the Swiss Elite Model Look contest took place last week at the Maag Music Hall in Zurich. Several hundred girls applied for the Swiss contest, which will lead to the world finale in China in October. Unlike myriad beauty competitions or TV model “reality” shows, the result of the Elite Model Look competition is often a real opportunity for the winners to enter the business as established models. Some of the world’s top models have emerged from this contest over the years. … Continue Reading

Fratelli Rossetti Fall-Winter 2009

reportage by Charles Beckwith
photos by Sandy Ramirez

Fratelli Rossetti mixes leathers and blends leather with suede for yet another strong stylish line. Usually we try to report on innovation, but with this label, these pieces are all about craftsmanship. The company was started shortly after World War II and since its foundation has demonstrated a consistent application of their awareness of fashion history and contemporary style time and again in their new collections. This season is no different. These are some very nice shoes. … Continue Reading

Interview with Anna Molinari, legendary designer of Blumarine

story by Charles Beckwith
photos by Boris Marberg

My grandmother always had an interesting taste in clothing. She was a woman who wore color, who wore excitement. The last few years she was on oxygen for emphysema, always a little “out of it” since that started, and recently chemotherapy for stage 4 lung cancer. So, she slowed down, and wasn’t really the whole person I remember from my childhood. It has been a while since I felt like when I was talking with her, I was really talking with her.

So, a few months ago, when I saw a video clip of the last resort collection from Blumarine, it was a deeply personal jolt I felt. I saw a collection I knew my grandmother would have wanted to wear. Every piece that was coming down that runway was something she would have been crazy for. So, when I was in Milan in December, I made it a point to visit their showroom. There is an energy to these collections that you rarely see, where style and life meet and dance.

I’ve had this interview for a few weeks now and had not posted it because my grandmother was near the end, and the ideas in my head about her spirit and the Blumarine label are linked. She passed away two weeks ago, and I finally feel a release, because I know she is free to be herself again.

Here finally, is my interview with the famed Italian designer, Mrs. Anna Molinari, and select images from her most recent collection. … Continue Reading

5 Minutes with Adam Lippes – Edo Inspirations For Lean Profiles

story by Sandy Ramirez
photos by Sandy Ramirez, Ron Adar, and Freda Henry

Adam Lippes is the designer behind ADAM, a label which showed its Fall 2009 Collection on Valentine’s day here at New York Fashion Week.

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Zac Posen Fall 2009 – La Belle Nouveau

story by Sandy Ramirez
photos by Sandy Ramirez, Freda Henry, and Charles Beckwith

Thursday night, after a long week of relatively little fashion excitement, we were shocked by what was perhaps the best show we have ever seen during any New York Fashion Week in memory.

For the Zac Posen F/W 2009 Collection, accompanied by the the neoclassical pieces of Stravinsky and Holst, played live in a special arrangement with five full size Steinway grand pianos aligned down the center of the runway, the likes of Alek Wek, Chanel Iman, Natasha Poly, Sasha Pivovarova, Catherine McNeil, Lily Donaldson, Heidi Mount, Iris Strubegger, Hannelore Knuts, and Coco Rocha paraded out wearing clothing befitting the era in which this music was written, one of the greatest ages for fashion the world has ever seen, La Belle Epoque. … Continue Reading

Mackage Fall 2009

story and photos by Sandy Ramirez

Wednesday night, Eran Elfassy and Elisa Dahan premiered their label’s Mackage F/W 2009 collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in The Salon at Bryant Park. “Mackage,” a named derived from a mispronunciation of the french “maquillage” (make-up) by Eran’s young niece, is a label that was itself born in school children’s day dreams. While in elementary school in Montreal, Eran and Elisa used to sketch together and dream of being fashion designers. They always hoped to show in New York. Now, that dream is normality. … Continue Reading

Richie Rich Fall 2009 – The Comeback Club Kid

story by Charles Beckwith and Cameron Carpenter
photos by Freda Henry, Sandy Ramirez, and Charles Beckwith

It has been more than a year since Heatherette dropped off the fashion radar, and New York Fashion Week has just not been the same without their shows. Now, beloved former Heatherette duo frontman Richie Rich is back in the game with a solo label that he has bestowed with his own playful moniker.

The Richie Rich F/W 2009 show opened to great anticipation for a few hundred adoring friends and fans in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel’s uber-glitzy Grand Ballroom with two well-chosen musical acts and a par-for-the-course bizarre showgirl-boys violin rock ballet performance that worked up audience excitement to a fever pitch.

… Continue Reading

Malan Breton Fall 2009

story by Cameron Carpenter
photos by Sandy Ramirez

Malan Breton’s F/W 2009 Collection was not his usual runway show, but an evening walk-around presentation in an art space. The 4,000 sq. ft. Eli Klein Gallery played host to the designer’s latest thread pageant. It was a fun affair attended by an eclectic crowd who were very receptive to the work and seemed to enjoy being able to get close enough for the far better viewing of the skilled young clothier’s fabrics and seaming than one is given parked in chairs five rows back along a catwalk. … Continue Reading

Carolina Herrera Fall 2009 – A Sermon In The Fabric

story by Freda Henry and Charles Beckwith
photos by Freda Henry and Adrianna Favero

For last fall, Carolina Herrera produced an array of stylish looks that seemed inspired by the leisure of English hunting parties and 60’s uptown girls. Models paraded out onto a bright runway with feathers literally in their caps, clad in double breasted power vests, and wearing riding boots obviously meant for strutting.

This time, no such affectations. Clean lines, elegance held close to the body. Braiding and silk cascade gracefully to a far more conservative tune, with elegant embroidery providing inborn detail.

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Marc Jacobs Fall 2009 – A Tale of Two Stories

story by Freda Henry and Charles Beckwith
photos by John Pringle

Either Marc Jacobs’ PR machine is on a celeb-free diet, or everyone was over in The Tent at Bryant Park for William Rast. Whether the paparazzi-magnets showed up not, the color and detail sure did, in this skillfully-executed collection. … Continue Reading

Venexiana Fall 2009 Collection

story by Darrah Leffler
photos by Sandy Ramirez

Venexiana LTD, of New York and Venice, and their inspired designer, Kati Stern, did not disappoint at the Venexiana Fall 2009 gala in The Salon at Bryant Park.

For being relatively new to the set, having launched her line in 2004, Stern certainly commands rapt attention with her innovative takes on classic looks.

This season’s collection, which we are told was influenced by Barbie designs down through the years, would indeed make any woman feel like a living doll. Stern’s designs “wow” in a way that allows the wearer to be playfully girlish, yet empowered as a woman, supported by both strong tailoring and softened lines.

Despite the efforts of the animal rights activists gathered in force out front, Stern sent rock-n-roll elegance down the runway with furs flying.

Andy & Debb Fall 2009 Collection

story by Darrah Leffler
photos by Adrianna Favero

Seoul to New York dynamic duo Andy & Debb presented to a packed house at The Salon in Bryant Park on Saturday night, with admirers and buyers angling for an opportunity to view the new Fall 2009 Collection. … Continue Reading

Telfar Fall 2009 Collection

story and video by Charles Beckwith
photos by Freda Henry

The Telfar runway show at Saint Mark’s Church in New York’s East Village is a low budget, high creativity show, defined by its surroundings.

When asked why he holds his show in the East Village, Telfar replies simply, “that’s just where I’m at.”

Black, gray, navy blue, and camel tan were the foundation colors. Jump suits and mens’ skirts were the standout statement pieces, and the man had zippers on everything. There were some interesting inserts of jewelery matched with a few looks. It is a classic punk East Village rush in the high gloss of New York Fashion Week.

Here is a video clip with some backstage still shots and all the runway looks:

Loris Diran – a classic sense of style

story and photos by Darrah Leffler

French-Armenian New Yorker Loris Diran shows a classic sense of style in his Fall/Winter 2009/2010 “Armor” collection.

With his evident “Luxury as a lifestyle” concepts, Diran’s “Armor” designs seriously suit up the wearer for just that. In both his men’s and women’s designs, which he folds into a single show, Diran does not play to the fears of the fashion or politically meek, using combinations of tweeds, lambskin, angora, fur, and a slim classically “chic” outline for the entire collection.

This collection includes such instant favorites as the Cashmere Tee and Tweed Corsets while putting together looks that easily allow the use of such phrases as “Bolero Jacket” and “Samurai Pant” in the same sentence. A combination of deep tones and neutral shades along with natural fibers and materials for these designs make these sleek looks eminently wearable in the long-term.

Though subdued for a nod to Couture, the Loris Diran Fall/Winter 2009/2010 “Armor” collection is undeniably eye-catching.

Gianfranco Ferré, Fall 2009 Preview

photos by Boris Marberg, text by Charles Beckwith

More of the laser-cut leather we’ve been seeing lately, but this time also with highly-detailed hand-embroidery.

… Continue Reading