Cousins and Noon By Noor designers Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Haya Mohammed Al Khalifa looked to the natural world surrounding the archipelago of their native Bahrain as the inspiration for their Fall/Winter 2013 collection that debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week on February 8 at New York City’s Lincoln Center. “For Fall/Winter 2013, the central influence was the transient culture of our home, Bahrain. We found the relation of migratory birds with the evanescent lifestyle very interesting so we wanted to elaborate on this and create a collection for a woman of travel,” said Shaikha Noor.
The collection is a combination of wide leg pants, pinafore dresses, bow blouses, long coats and capes for days in colors of grey, burgundy, navy, and red. “We experimented with silhouettes, offsetting voluminous skirts and wide-legged pants with slim tailored suits and dresses. We also played with mixing textures; a calfskin collar on a wool cape, velvet lapels and cashmere knits with double-faced silk,” Shaikha Haya
Continuing the trompe l’oeil elements from the Pre-Fall collection, the op art movement influenced by Bridget Riley and Josef Albers is reflected in several of the designers’ prints.
The streamlined pieces have interesting embellishments such as the embroidered bee on a navy light wool classic shirt and burgundy check hand woven scarf along with clutches hand-crafted from local date palm leaves, lavished with crystal bugs.
The backless gowns, sculpted skirts and cloaks for evening are dramatic with bold colors that create a refined gothic look. The red double silk backless gown was stand-out, sophisticated and utterly feminine.
VIP attendees included Olivia Palermo, Selita Ebanks, Poppy Delevingne, BryanBoy, Leigh Lezark, Nigel Barker, Rumi Neely, Kelly Framel, Aimee Song, Cory Kennedy, Lauren Rae Levy and Alex McCord.
