New York Fashion Week (NYFW) kicked-off the SS’17 season on Thursday, September 8th with the evening show at FTL Moda presented by Samsung.
I arrived by 4:15 pm and was at the front of the line with a confirmed standing room pass for 5:00 pm. My excitement was waning by the hour, as the doors did not open until 5:50 pm and by 6:15 pm the steaming of garments and styling of models was still in effect. Yes, they were fashionably late! Thankfully, just two minutes before the opening strut, glamour Gods blessed my aching feet with second row seats, goodies et. al.!
Here are the five featured designs to keep an eye on…
Paradise City, SHOCK & AWWW’s debut Spring/Summer 2017 Capsule Collection opened the event with thirteen looks in exotic prints and vibrant colors true to its underground luxury street wear brand. Rebellious ready-to-wear leather jackets ranged from moto in lambskin with Swarovski embellishment to bomber in deerskin with foiled leather embellishment to anorak with raccoon fur trim.
LeViCo presented by Gallery of Indonesia was next in the lineup. Models strut down the runway wearing handmade fabric platform shoes and sandals made using a zero waste concept, and topped in ornate crowns. The cultural heritage in Southeast Asia is richly preserved in simple and classy cut attire for everyday with motifs in traditional irate weaving full of symbolic meaning— sarongs with fringes, tiered skirts with flare, one-shoulder dresses with asymmetrical hemlines and a regal strapless gown for a closing look.
CHASA INSTITUTE OF DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY highlighted Indo-western wear in handloom made by young design students. Placards promoting handloom and the aspects of education for women, among them: RESPECT, CONFIDENCE, KNOWLEDGE were carried by models wearing gold cigarette pants paired with a sea-foam colored duster coat, a show-stopping structured gold coat dress on the catwalk.
Consistent with the Fllumaé brand, modesty and elegance is impressively incorporated with a twist of both the eastern and western world. The collection is comprised of flowing flow-length dresses, cigarette pants layered with cardigans long to the ankle and loose abayas made of fancy mesh found in Islamic clothing. Models were veiled in a variety of gold, pink and black hijabs wrapped around their face mostly covering their hair, forehead and neck that is widely worn by Muslim women worldwide.
Last but certainly not least was VAISHALI*S by Vaishali Shadangule. “And Quite Flows the Tread…” the collection exquisitely finds the fine balance between flow and form through the hand woven tradition of textures ranging from knots and cords to loose freely hanging threads that culminate at a point which holds the entire garment together. The free-spirited essence is present in jackets paired with skirts or dresses made of delicate silk, in unique silhouettes and a color palette of off-white, beige, and shades of blue, grey and black.
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