Naeem Khan gave us gala meets an evening out with his Spring/Summer 2016 collection. There were gowns that would make any woman the bell of the ball, and cocktail dresses that would be instant attention grabbers at any party. The inspiration for Khan’s most recent collection was “iconic muses of the ’50s and ’60s…Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, Brigitte Bardot, and Jackie Kennedy.”
Yesterday afternoon Dennis Basso debuted his Spring/Summer 2016 Collection during New York Fashion Week at Skylight at Moynihan Station. Basso an American fashion designer who is known for his couture fur designs gave us something a little bit different with this collection. He still wowed us with his furs but he didn’t stop there. Basso used bright colors, floral designs, lace, and chiffon to tell the story of the bold and fearless woman.
GANT was founded by Ukranian immigrant Bernard Gantmache and his sons in 1949. It all started as a family business built around a simple well constructed shirt and has since grown into a major fashion brand. The house of GANT is divided in three distinct sub-brands: GANT Originals, GANT Rugger and GANT Diamond G. All three brands were represented at New York Fashion Week via an eye opening presentation. The inspiration was classic preppy style with a modern edge.
Pyer Moss NYFW SS2016 Runway Presentation was a platform form for more than Fashion. Haitian Born Pyer Moss Founder and head designer Kerby–Jean Raymond had a statement to make. The show started with a 10-minute video chronicling the many victims of police violence across the country courtesy of the “Pyer Moss News Network”. The short film featured interviews with artist, journalists, celebrities and family members of victims of police violence, including Usher Raymond, Robert Verdi, Joel Towers, the dean of the Parsons School, Oscar Grant’s mother Wanda Johnson, Eric Garner’s daughter Emerald Garner, Sean Bell’s wife Nicole Bell. The video clips seen repeatedly in the last year took on fresh meaning with the new visceral editing and personal commentary.
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 10: A model poses on the runway during the Pyer Moss fashion show during Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week at the Altman Building on September 10, 2015, in New York City. (Photo by Fernando Leon/Getty Images for Pyer Moss)
Brother and sister design duo of Nicholas K presented a rather unique spring collection. The Spring 2016 show opened with a white parachute trench and then followed with a white nylon windbreaker pullover and pant combo. For this spring collection, they were inspired by the occupations of their brother who was a NAVY Seal and father who was a flight surgeon. They appropriately titled their collection, “Terminal Velocity.” This collection of 50 looks featured silk maxi dresses, dip-dyed poncho’s, and lightweight denim dresses and joggers.
With Custo Barcelona, each season his collections get better like wine. The brand has always taken the more is a better approach when styling runway looks. Much like past designs, Custo Barcelona spring collection was an explosion of bright colors and bold prints. The designer’s innate use of color is exceptional. The spring collection consisted of uncommon geometric prints. It also had a youthful appeal with cute little printed spaghetti strap dresses, flowy printed maxi dresses, and skirts. The mixing of textures and colors at times proved to be a little too busy. Custo described his spring collection as “Slow” referencing “a culinary movement that rejects the standardization of taste.”
On Sept. 12, the fashion elite gathered at Artbeam in Chelsea to view the Spring/Summer 2016 collection from Project Runway alum Christian Siriano. The well-attended event brought out the likes of Alicia Silverstone of Clueless fame—decked out in a floor-length white gown, Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks in a knee-length crimson ensemble, and Orange Is the New Black star Laura Prepon, who modeled a vampy black pantsuit.
Seven designers showcase a collection of five pieces each with the finest SUPIMA cotton from its minimal state to breathtaking creations all in the hopes of being chosen as the winner and walk away with a,000 prize. The seven designers were Karen Dang (Academy of Art), Nnamdi Agum (FIT), Paige Meacham (Kent State), Leetal Platt (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Laren Nahigian (Pratt), Julia Han (Rhode Island School of Design) and Kate McKenna (Savannah College of Art & Design). Each designer will certainly make a mark in the future of fashion one way or another.