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Eveningwear from Naeem Khan makes a statement at New York Fashion Week
When formal gets fun: that’s what ApparelMagic client Naeem Khan explored at his runway show during New York Fashion Week.
Making a very compelling case for ditching the little black dress, he pulled out all the stops: with gowns in every color under the rainbow, and frequently several of them at once, garishly clashing with insouciant aplomb.
Shown in famed late architect Zaha Hadid’s futuristic luxury condo building in Chelsea, the designs looked right at home with their ropes of fringes echoing the building’s swoops and curves.
A whole caravan of dresses felt safari-ready, with models parading down the runway in every animal print imaginable, from leopard to zebra to giraffe. Others followed soon after in sleek 70s caftans and floral prints that went far past psychedelic.
Khan, a maximalist par excellence, knows his customer well, and demonstrates this season that she’s one that confident enough in her taste and body to put the fun back in capital-F fashion.
ApparelMagic client Prabal Gurung celebrates 10 years on the runway
Of any designer on the New York Fashion Week schedule, ApparelMagic client Prabal Gurung might be among the most steadfast proponents of diversity and social justice. From fundraising after the earthquake in Nepal to consistently thoughtful model-casting, Gurung does the walk to his talk.
So what better way to celebrate a decade in fashion than to take his vision back to the source? For his spring 2020 collection, he reimagined classic Irving Penn and Cecil Beaton fashion photography from the 1940s, asking one specific question: what if our image of beauty came not just with white skin, but included everyone?
So with that conceit, he took off: ballgowns and classy separates in patriotic red, white, and blue. Then florals, both printed and appliqué, some paired with matching bouquets cradled in the crook of an arm. Feathers, too, made an appearance, of course, here used in huge marabou shrugs and across the bodice of gowns.
Seeing the range showcased by such a variety of models, however, was the main event. Gurung showed the industry how much it had been missing out on by only now beginning to come to terms with race.
Sashes across the models read “Who gets to be American?” like a surreal, woke beauty pageant. And with that, Gurung is up for another decade of challenging the industry to be more inclusive and just than ever.
Area’s blingy suiting sparkles at NYFW
What do you get when you combine name plate necklaces, rhinestone beards, and yards of satin? That’s what Area designers Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Pansczczyk asked this season with their standout spring 2020 collection.
Daring to go where few designers could, they dreamt up looks that somehow bridged the gaps between the 90s ballroom scene, 50s couture, and 2010s Instagram culture.
The collection really had it all. Shoulders and skirts with poufs out to there. Downright elegant jumpsuits and shirtdresses in eyelet lace or lasercut vinyl. Golden crinolines, panniers, and shoulder pads worn above pantsuits.
Riotous? Absolutely. But masterfully done? Even more so. Beneath the of-the-moment sparkle, there were perfectly cut blazers with just the right wiggle room, party dresses that could work on ages 16 to 60, and skirt suits that updated the classic Chanel look for the post-Lagerfeld era.
Foresight is 20/20 at Maria Cornejo’s first show of the next decade
With only months to go before we leave the 2010’s, Maria Cornejo is in the mood for a fresh start. Putting on her Spring/Summer 2020 show atop The High Line park in New York City, she envisioned a warm, comfortable world for the loyal legions of women who make up her base.
Simple it might have felt, but the patternmaking was sublime. A ruff topped one elevated T-shirt, bringing the Elizabethan times to the present. Another touch, accordion-pleated sleeves, curved down the arms like paper fans.
Focusing on a new silhouette: rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and loose trousers ending just above the ankle, Cornejo reimagined her line, Zero + Maria Cornejo, in tones of ecru, eggshell, and cream. Where there was color, it was cobalt, navy, or a few shots of peach.
With easy wrap dresses, oversized jackets, and even a few utilitarian pieces shown on men, Cornejo showed she’ll be ready for the future, whatever it holds.
ApparelMagic client Bode wins CFDA award
Emily Adams Bode of the New York-based menswear label Bode won the Emerging Designer of the Year Award at the CFDA Awards on Monday in Brooklyn, New York.
The designer, whose brand Bode is an ApparelMagic client, is a newcomer on the scene—only launching the company three years ago—but since then has been a critical darling with eco-friendly, heirloom fabrics and nostalgic cuts and embellishments.
Winning an award from the CFDA is the highest honor in American fashion. However, this is not Bode’s first accolade. Just last year, Bode was a runner up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, winning $150,000 in the competition.
Jonathan Simkhai takes on Sydney, Australia for his resort show
With all of the biggest luxury brands flying their guests out to exotic locales for stagings of their resort fashion shows, it only feels natural for Jonathan Simkhai’s growing brand to do the same. This season, the ApparelMagic client experimented with the concept by taking over a Bondi Beach boardwalk in Sydney, Australia.
Starting out with a pink leather jumpsuit that looked custom-ordered for the next Bond girl, he quickly went into what she would wear on her off-hours: scarf-print silk dresses, trench coats covering one-piece swimsuits, and even some black-tie style tuxedo dresses for evening.
Going deeper into the night—literally, given his twilight-staged al fresco runway—he showed off his speciality, negligee-inspired gowns, this time in a rainbow of colors.
These dresses were the big hit of the collection, their oranges, blushes, and lavenders set off by the sunset sky. Timing is everything in fashion, and this designer, more than most, knows how to put on a show.
ApparelMagic clients walk the Met Gala red carpet
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Costume Institute benefit gala, or the Met Gala, as it’s commonly known, brings A-listers from around the world to celebrate the museum’s annual fashion-oriented show.
It is the biggest night in fashion, and this year the biggest names in fashion, music, and sports chose to wear custom creations by ApparelMagic clients for their struts up the red carpet.
Jonathan Simkhai, one of New York’s leading young designers, and an ApparelMagic client, took Josephine Skriver, a supermodel and one of his muses, as his date. They stunned paparazzi and onlookers alike with their coordinated florals.
Basketball star Odell Beckham Jr. one-upped the rest of the men on the red—or more accurately, pink—carpet when he showed up in a Thom Browne sleeveless suit jacket and matching wool kilt. Worn with unlaced boots and tattoos all over, he took the look to the next level.
Shutting down the arrivals was the ever-charismatic musician Cardi B, also in Thom Browne. In an anatomically-correct burgundy gown with a bodice encrusted with real rubies and a yards-long train edged in feathers, she was the night’s fan favorite, topping best-dressed lists and showing that ApparelMagic clients are on the cutting edge of fashion.
ApparelMagic clients nominated for 2019 CFDA Fashion Awards
The fashion industry’s leading brands use ApparelMagic, and yet again their success has yielded accolades from the highest places. This year, at the 2019 CFDA Fashion Awards, commonly known as the “Oscars of Fashion,” it will be ApparelMagic clients walking the red carpet instead of the glamorous men and women they dress.
Thom Browne’s trademark shrunken wool suits and Amiri’s rocker-chic casual wear might look lightyears apart, but designers Thom Browne and Mike Amiri, both ApparelMagic clients, have gotten the nod for Menswear Designer of the Year.
With his logo-embossed tote bags hanging off the shoulders of a crowd both socially-conscious and trend-aware, New York it-designer Telfar Clemens has been nominated for Accessory Designer of the Year.
And it’s not just established ApparelMagic users who are getting the star treatment. Both Sarah Staudinger and George Augusto of Staud and Emily Adams Bode of Bode have been nominated for Emerging Designer of the Year.
Nominated designers will gather with many of the fashion industry’s leading lights at a ceremony on June 3 in Brooklyn, New York.
In addition to the nomination from the CFDA, Bode was also honored as a finalist for the LVMH Prize earlier this week.
Naeem Khan relives big nights out at Studio 54
The phrase “age is just a number” has never felt more accurate than at Naeem Khan’s fall 2019 show during New York Fashion Week.
The designer, an ApparelMagic client, let an intergenerational cast of beauties strut down the catwalk in some of the shiniest, sparkliest, and most feather-laden pieces of clothing this side of a Bob Mackie retrospective. And even more, Khan did it in the best taste imaginable.
Like disco dancers from the legendary 70s night club, every fluid movement of these women captured the light and energy in the room. From teenage models in the running to be this season’s it girls to women like Pat Cleveland who were really in attendance at some of history’s greatest parties, each woman looked strong, elegant, and very, very glam in her individual look.
These looks were not for the wall flowers. Dresses were dripping with metallic threads, spangled in sequins, flowing with fringe and feathers, and worn with very high slits and sheer panels. For believers in astrology, though Khan is a Taurus-Gemini cusp, his clothes are made for Leos, ready for the spotlight at a moment’s notice.
Going back to nature with Lauren Manoogian
Never have neutrals looked more enticing than in ApparelMagic client Lauren Manoogian’s fall 2019 collection. The lookbook, shot in and around the workshop of famed carpenter and wood artist George Nakashima, played with knits, Manoogian’s forte, in a range of taupes and browns, putties and oatmeals.
Working with wide, loose silhouettes, Manoogian layered soft sweaters effortlessly with scarves and cardigans, turning each of her models into the picture of wearable hygge. Ornament was practically nonexistant, with all but a few wooden buttons eliminated. Plush jackets hung open without closure, and some coats were belted in self fabric.
Pairing stiff denim and weightless cashmere, the designer played with hard and soft, durable and delicate. Silhouettes, on the other hand, were refined into one easy concept: oversize sweaters that in some cases, reached to just above the ankle. After all, in some weather, isn’t all we want to do cuddle up in something soft and warm?
Apiece Apart shows sumptuous separates for fall at NYFW
Apiece Apart designers Starr Hout and Laura Cramer are getting very comfortable. With a fall collection launched at New York Fashion Week this February, they helped their woman get plenty of room to breathe with cozy, effortless clothes perfect for a trip to the country house.
In amethyst, bottle green, and clay tones from taupe to terra cotta, each piece gave off a decadent, even mysterious vibe. Fine mohair and cashmere sweaters begged to be touched, and even more tactile was a thick corduroy jumpsuit in magenta.
Another strong statement was below the belt, with variations on pants, whether they were pleated, cropped and wide-legged, or flaring out at the hem. Each pair was a pitch-perfect take on 2019 casual dressing.
Ending the collection on a subdued note was an elegant halter-neck gown in a muddy green velvet. It was just asking to be worn at a dinner lit only by candlelight. These were clothes that spoke for themselves.