The Fashion Informer

The Fashion Informer on Instagram

After a brief hiatus, I've rejoined Instagram.  Come visit!

TFI on Million Dollar Fashion Bloggers

I recently wrote an opinon piece about the proliferation of Million Dollar Fashion Bloggers for the New York Observer. Would love to hear what you think of the trend.

image courtesy New York Observer

See You in September!

Hey, fashion fans! As the NYFW shows have ended and there are countless other places covering the ongoing scene, I'm putting The Fashion Informer on hiatus unti the next round of shows in September. Have a wonderful summer and I'll see you in the fall.



illustration of The Fashion Informer by Lana Frankel

Foundation Onda NYFW Partners

So another New York Fashion Week has come and gone. We've seen some great fall fashion, discovered some talented newcomers and helped launch Foundation Onda, a NYFW nonprofit that benefits Safe Horizon, the largest victim's assistance organization in the country. 

Below is a list of Foundation Onda's current Partners, including Narciso Rodriguez, Cynthia Rowley, Derek Lam, Ralph Rucci, Donna Karan, Christine Alcalay, Libertine, Honor and Emerson—to name just a few—and next season we hope to have even more designers, beauty brands and PR firms on board. 

Here's to New York's exceedingly generous fashion community, who value the importance of doing good while looking good! And please visit Foundation Onda to learn how you can help.

NYFW Fall 2014 Diary

 

February 2014 marks the tenth year—and 20th season—that I've been covering New York Fashion Week. In years past, when friends and colleagues have asked how I'm feeling about the shows, which I covered first for Fashion Wire Daily and later, for Vogue.com UK, the answer has been an unfettered "excited" or "inspired" or (midway through the week) "exhausted."

This season, the only word that comes to mind when people ask how I'm feeling is demoralized. Part of this has to do with the fact that there are, as has been pointed out in countless other articles, just too many damn shows (320 this week alone, according to the latest New York Times' T magazine). Part of it has to do with the fact that the fashion cycle seems to be operating on warp speed these days, so you've barely had a chance to stop and catch your breath after covering one season—pre-fall! couture! fall! resort! holiday! pre-spring! couture! spring!—when the next round of shows is upon us and we have to do it all over again.

Part of it has to do with the fact that Fashion Week itself has morphed into a bloated, swollen free-for-all that seems to have more to do with feeding the blogosphere/social media beast than discovering and appreciating the work of the designers we're supposedly there to celebrate. (I mean, really, do the words "street style" even mean anything anymore, what with all the freebies and paid placements that have become de rigueur for the endlessly photographed bloggers and street style icons? Even worse are the fashion world hangers-on who dress up in elaborate, look-at-me! costumes and parade around Lincoln Center or outside Milk Studios with studied nonchalance, desperately hoping to catch the eye of the shutterbug wolf pack. It's all just so sad.) 

But more than any of the above, the mind-numbing machinations of it all—running around from venue to venue, uptown and downtown, east side to west, for the privilege of watching a 15-minute parade of mostly mediocre clothes worn by skeletal teenagers—just leaves me feeling meh about the whole thing. 

That's not to say there aren't some worthwhile shows and transformative moments during NYFW. Of course there are. It's just that they're increasingly few and far between, drowned out by the incessant clatter and hype that surrounds Fashion Week like a swarm of locusts. (Though I did find a renewed sense of Fashion Week purpose through my involvement in Foundation Onda, the NYFW nonprofit started by my friend and colleague Erin Dixon, which you can learn more about here.)

But given my general ambivalence, rather than load up my fall 2014 calendar with shows I don't really care about (which is to say: most of them), this season I opted to only attend shows by designers I love and admire, those who march to the beat of their own drummer and work to push fashion forward in their own, unique way. Unfortunately, I missed the first two days of shows after getting stranded in Idaho following Snowpocalypse #5 and coming down with a wicked chest cold, so apologies to my designer friends who presented last Wednesday and Thursday.

On Friday, I kicked off the week with Tess Giberson, who set herself the task of reinterpreting classic pieces from her New Hampshire childhood into something more modern and fashion-forward. She accomplished this beautifully in curved hem puffer vests with hand-knit back panels, silk skirts and dresses with a watercolor forest print by her artist husband, Jon Widman, boyish wool bombers softened with feminine fur collars and elongated flannel print button-downs worn with sleek leather leggings. She evolved her signature knits by way of a grandpa cardigan with hand-crocheted sleeves, a sleeveless double panel turtleneck worn atop black leather shorts and reverse jacquard sweaters that looked as chic and cozy as a hug. To me, Giberson epitomizes what it means to be a designer, in that she does not try and reinvent the wheel every season but instead forges her own path, quietly and consistently trying to better her own highly personal raison d'être. That black puffer vest is number one on my Fall Hit List, along with her borrowed-from-the-boys knit cap, which reminds me of the hats all the cool stoner kids in my rural high school wore while sneaking smokes outside the gym between class.

Newcomer Tanya Taylor was in a playful mood for fall, with hand-painted leather coats and dresses, polka dot knits and flirty floral jacquard pieces in graphic black and white offset by jolts of neon (including removable fur collars and rabbits' feet lariats strung around the models' throats). A bold check sweater looked terrific paired with a silver camera print skirt—a metallic motif that repeated itself on dresses, tops and coats—and she knocked it out of the park with a series of silk cocktail frocks with colorful, three-dimensional petals that fluttered softly with every step.

Like Giberson, Sally LaPointe is a designer who has a finely-honed aesthetic that she moves forward, inch by beautiful inch. This season she took the Charles Bukowski poem "Bluebird" as her inspiration, outfitting her girls in tough luxe leather skirts, wool shantung bustiers, sexy fox-trimmed sweaters, armor-like fish skin bombers, and dresses and tops with artfully embellished silver beading that looked, from a distance, like exposed zippers. All conveyed a femme warrior vibe that will surely resonate with LaPointe's cool, confident customer. And she ended the show with a trio of bluebird print evening ensembles that evolved her trademark style from goth to gorgeous.

Although this is only her second NYFW season, Rosie Assoulin already has an immediately identifiable look, comprised of oversized, sculptural silhouettes, luxurious fabrics used in easy-breezy ways and clever high-low pairings (think: hand-constructed evening gowns worn with Superga sneakers designed in collaboration with her friend Leandra Medine, aka the Man Repeller). For fall, Assoulin continued apace with colorful, super wide-legged trousers, beautifully tailored coats, artfully draped and wrapped evening dresses and a lovely ankle-length gray wool tulip skirt topped by a cropped windowpane plaid pullover that yanked the classic Sixties funnel neck into the here and now.

 

Azede Jean-Pierre was in a cozy mood for fall—no surprise there, given the incredibly cold and snowy New York winter we've been experiencing—and she worked a long, louche silhouette in a variety of highly textured knits that made me think of the off-duty lounging outfits favored by Scandal's Olivia Pope. To wit: ribbed wool sweaters, tights, jumpers and tanks. Fancy high-waisted sweatpants. Slouchy ponte pants worn with a super luxe knitted mink sweater (you know how you do). There was even a glorious round shouldered felted wool coat and matching trousers in soft dove gray—exactly what D.C.'s famous fictional fixer would wear to meet Fitz…I mean President Grant…for a secret tête-à-tête. 

Thom Browne has no need for secret tête-à-têtes (real or imagined) as he wears his sartorial heart on his sleeve for all to see. Last season was a paean to glamorous, institutionalized lunatics. This season he turned his showman's eye to the Catholic church, as evidenced by the cross-and-candle backdrop, wooden pew seating, burning incense and model-priest supplicants kneeling at the edge of the runway. On said runway: white wigged, wimple wearing women in monastic gray flannel capes, nipped-waist blazers and long, hourglass satin dresses marched in mournful procession on the road to redemption. Then the church came into some money (ka-ching!), as one sinful gold look after another passed by, each more heavily embellished with fur, embroidery and beading than the last. Whether Browne was commenting on the corruption of the church or its ability to deliver us from evil is unclear. But as to whether this was a transporting, captivating Fashion Week experience? Gilt-y as charged.

One can't speak of captivating Fashion Week experiences without giving a shout-out to Libertine designer Johnson Hartig. Like Azede Jean-Pierre, he, too, was inspired by the winter weather, embellishing black coats and dresses with white crystal frost-and-snowflake beading. Elsewhere, Yeats' poem "The Sorrow of Love" appeared as a graphic text print on coats and sweatsuits, Boy Scout-meets-punk rock patches adorned coats and blazers, and Gerard Richter-esque grids were used to fantastic effect on multicolor tights paired with clashing socks and pumps. These disparate themes, filtered through Hartig's fertile imagination and worn by energetic young models, made for a delightfully uplifting and memorable show. The colorful Pologeorgis fur that closed the proceedings perfectly encapsulated the wit and whimsy of this stellar collection, as did the Sucre Bleu chocolate/sea salt crucifix left on the seat of each front row guest—an inspired touch that would have been equally at home in the Church of Thom Browne.

Also memorable, but for different reasons, was Kristine Johannes' Rauwolf collection. Sophisticated and elegant in the extreme, Johannes once again presented her Plexi evening bag collection in the Parkview Suite at the Grammercy Hotel—and she once again hit a home run. The designer took her cue this season from HBO's Game of Thrones, which translated to the dragon scale-etched Lindworm clutch, the metal studded Elettra grid, antique mirrored oval Sposa bag and the Castellum with 3-D matte pyramids that had me rethinking the fashion possibilities of Legos but were, in fact, inspired by the cabochon cuts in the Met's JAR exhibit. Johannes comes by her inspiration honestly: she's a huge Thrones' fan and none other than dragon mother Daenerys Targaryen herself (aka, actress Emilia Clarke) carried a Rauwolf clutch at the Emmys last season, as did Elisabeth Moss, Leslie Mann, Kelly Osbourne and a host of other A-listers, making it the most-carried evening bag brand at the event (take that, Judith Lieiber!). Expect to see much more of Rauwolf when the Oscars roll around next month. 

I ended NYFW at the Milk Studios show of Jeremy Scott, which drew the likes of Perez Hilton, Kat Graham, Joe Jonas, Coco Rocha and Liz Goldwyn. Oscar nominee Jared Leto arrived 35 minutes late, rushing into the packed-house venue after everyone else had been seated and the runway cleared for the show to begin. "My apologies," he announced to the room, arms held high. "But you all look lovely!" The crowd burst out laughing, he took his seat and the show began. And what a show it was. Perfectly timed to coincide with the 2014 Winter Olympics, Scott reworked football jerseys as fuzzy knit gowns, recast the varsity jacket as a furry tuxedo blazer and re-imagined old-school tube socks as dresses and cardigans. The classic leather basketball morphed into a bustier and miniskirt, and sheer mesh jerseys were worn with protective laced leg pads given Scott's signature sexy spin. A suite of Band-Aid print looks nodded to the after-effects of his athletes' endeavors while a quartet of Madballs knits played into the designer's love of retro pop culture. It was cute. It was clever. It was fun. He shoots, he scores. And the crowd goes wild!

photos by Lauren David Peden/The Fashion Informer 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

Meet Foundation Onda

I'm thrilled to announce my involvement in Foundation Onda, a non-profit founded by my friend and colleague Erin Dixon that's launching during New York Fashion Week. This season, Foundation Onda will benefit Safe Horizon, the largest victims' services agency in the United States. 

Please visit the Foundation Onda website to learn more about this exciting new venture—and you can read more about it in this terrific Style.com feature.  I look forward to seeing you at the shows!

New York Fashion Week: Fall 2014

Forget Polar Vortex 2: Electric Boogaloo (been there, done that, bought the snowboots). The thing that's got everyone talking is the approach of New York Fashion Week and the fall 2014 shows, which begin in a mere two weeks. 

As always, I'll be covering a range of shows and presentations from designers both emerging and established—and bringing you all the behind-the-scenes scoop. Looking forward to having you along for the ride!



image courtesy Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Merry Christmas!

See You in February!

Now that New York Fashion Week is over, it's back to work I go. I hope you've enjoyed our NYFW adventures—and I hope to see you back here in February for the next round of shows.


illustration by Lana Frankel

TFI on Dossier: Fort Makers

I recently had the pleasure of spending an afternoon at the Bro0klyn studio of artists' collaborative, Fort Makers. (They paint! They quilt! They do woodworking! They design clothing!) The result of our fun and freewheeling conversation was published on Dossier, accompanied by some kickass images by photographer Kate Owen. Go. Enjoy.


image courtesy Kate Owen/Dossier

Introducing…Rosie Assoulin

The Label: Rosie Assoulin
Based In: New York City
Designed By: Rosie Assoulin. The 28-year-old Brooklyn native has always loved fashion—she began experimenting on her grandmother's sewing machine at age 13—and hopscotched from floral design to event planning to jewelry design (under the tutelage of her future mother-in-law, Lee Angel creative director, Roxanne Assoulin) before turning her talents to fashion. Having dropped out of FIT, the designer honed her skills through internships at Lee Angel, Oscar de la Renta, Brian Reyes and Lanvin. "We launched our collection with Resort 2014 this past June," said Assoulin. "It was centered around what my ideal wardrobe would be."
Looks Like: Based in Tribeca and produced in New York's Garment District, Assoulin's resort outing is full of what she terms "evolved classic" silhouettes (think: relaxed drawstring waist jumpsuits, a trench back vest, low-slung palazzo pants atop a bell sleeved crop top, and architecturally draped cocktail frocks in bold, figure flattering stripes crafted from pure silk and luxurious cotton faille). Her début outing is, she said, "a blend of many aesthetics I've always been drawn to, including American sportswear, Fifties French couture and ethnic tribal wear with a healthy dose of menswear throughout." Indeed, it's the ladylike boyishness of Assoulin's designs—even the evening dresses feel refreshingly sportif—that sets her work apart. She's also adept at using big, graphic prints in unexpected ways, such as a pair of trousers that are white above the knee and black below, worn with a matching tie belt, or a strapless sheath with diagonally striped panels that meet in a flirty cascade at the hip. For spring 2014 (pictured below) she continued to evolve her signature menswear tailoring-meets-feminine volume by way of double-belted trousers with a cold-shoulder blouse, grommeted palazzo pants paired with a casual-cool polo, sari-sashed le smoking and a hand-painted striped gown with an adjustable zippered train. The designer also collaborated with her mother-in-law on a small range of semiprecious bags and jewelry for spring. "I am drawn to women who are strong, passionate, individualistic and confident," the designer said of her dream client. "She’s stylish, not trendy, but she’s got an adventurous spirit. It is for a woman who approaches dressing herself with a deep understanding of who she is—and has a healthy curiosity for the new and unchartered within herself and the world."
Sold At: The Rosie Assoulin collection retails from $550 - $7,200 and is carried at Fivestory, Louis Boston, Forty Five Ten in Dallas, Capitol in Charlotte, The Webster Miami and online at Moda Operandi.




graphic design by K Sarna

TFI on Editorialist: Tom Binns

In case you missed it, here's the Tom Binns exclusive I did for Editorialist (and I don't use the term "exclusive" lightly: it's the reclusive jewelry designer's  first interview in 15-odd years). Boo ya!


image courtesy Editorialist

TFI on Editorialist: Jessica Alba

I rarely do celebrity profiles these days, having spent the first half of my career interviewing every actor and musician out there, from Tupac Shakur, Green Day and Michael Stipe to Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz and LL Cool J (to name but a few). Been there, done that. But I was happy to meet Jessica Alba, who's doing great work with her eco-chic Honest Company. You can read all about it—and her style dos and dont's—over on Editorialist.


image courtesy Editorialist

TFI on Editorialist: Veronica Webb

You think you know Veronica Webb? Think again. I sat down with the fashion icon earlier this summer for the pre-fall issue of Editorialist. Here's what the self-described "mom-in-chief" had to say about life on the front lines of fashion.


image courtesy Editorialist

TFI on Editorialist: Punk Exhibit

So what have I been up to since putting TFI on haitus in February, you ask? Plenty, I answer. Some editorial work, some marketing and script writing assignments and lots of other good stuff. Here, for instance, is a feature I did for Editorialist on the Punk: Chaos to Couture exhibit at the Met Costume Institute, tracing how the punk movement influenced luxury designers.



image courtesy Editorialist

NYFW Spring 2014 Diary: Best S14 Shoe

And the winner for the best shoe of the New York Fashion Week spring 2014 season goes to...(drumroll, please)...Costello Tagliapietra for their fantastically chic-yet-comfy selection of flat, two-tone sandals. Both beautiful and practical, these babies are sure to be a staple of every urban girl's wardrobe once spring rolls around. Who wants a pair (or three)? I do! I do! The line forms to the left, ladies.

photo by Lauren David Peden/The Fashiion Informer

NYFW Spring 2014 Dairy: Daily Shoe

Today's shoe (well, yesterday's shoe, if we're splitting hairs) was seen on the Marc Jacobs spring 2014 runway, which was all about apocalyptic shipwreck style (or, as Robin Givhan so brilliantly put it, "castaway couture"). Leave it to Muscle Marc to make Tevas cool again. For that, I offer a sincere thank you from the bottom of my pavement-pounding heart!


photos courtesy NY mag/The Cut

NYFW Spring 2014 Diary: Ralph Lauren

Barely there makeup—just a touch of pale pink shadow, a swipe of mascare and a natural, rosy lip—worn with sleek hair with an off-center part. That was the backstage beauty message at Ralph Lauren's spring 2014 outing. After a week of OTT everything, it was a lovely change of pace and felt very much like something real women will want to wear.


photo courtesy Ralph Lauren

NYFW Spring 2014 Diary: Day Eight

Wednesday dawns sunny and h-o-t with highs in the 90s and lots of good old NYC humidity. Fun! Dressing stylishly when you know you'll be running around town in a convection oven (sans car and driver) is always a challenge, but I pulled on one of my favorite summer outfits (Catherine Malandrino white embroidered peasant blouse, Eileen Fisher summer weight crepe pants and black patent/silver Mephisto Hubilias, which are like cooler, even more comfy Birkis). Because when it's nearing 100, you can't be a slave to fashion (apologies to Anna Dello Russo and Michelle Harper).

My first stop is the Grammercy Park Hotel for the presentation of Rauwolf, an incredibly chic Plexiglas clutch collection designed by Kristine Johannes. For spring, Kristine was inspired by the "tragic beauty" of Gavin Bryars' classical score, The Sinking of the Titanic, which led her to consider all manner of oceanic denizens and decay. There's a graphic black and white minaudière that recalls a wentletrap shell found of the coast of Japan, and others with silver surfaces that appear blistered and decomposed—but in the loveliest way possible. "Basically, you take a sheet of Plexiglas and you make it sick," the designer says with a laugh of her top secret technique, which had her Italian artisans shaking their heads in disbelief. The results remind me of the scarred, cloudy surface of an antique mirror—destroyed and worn down by time, to be sure. But also achingly beautiful and a tacit reminder of the fate that awaits us all. (All this from a little evening bag? Yup. That's the genius of Johannes.) I'm also enamored of the new Noblesse ("we're gettin' fancy with the French names"), a slope-sided clutch encased in a blown-up skin cell print with faceted Plexi crystals on the sides. Kristine demonstrates its super-light properties by faux tossing it while instructing me to "go long." We're interrupted by Deena Abdulaziz, the charming Saudi Arabian princess/owner of Riyadh boutique D'NA and her marketing director, Alex Aubry, who are running an hour behind schedule. After a quick introduction and a catch-up with Alex (whom I've never met in person but know from back in the day, when we both used to be frequent commenters on the then-new On the Runway blog), I reluctantly leave Kristine and her beautiful creations—and the equally beautiful Park View Suite, which is hands-down the nicest NYFW hotel venue I've seen thus far—to head to my next appointment.

 

On the way downtown, my cabbie and I start off having a pleasant enough conversation about politics and yesterday's primary results. He tells me he voted for Christine Quinn and Eliot Spitzer (whom he calls "my governor") and says his biggest issue is anti-bullying, suggesting there be signs posted in all classrooms and outside schools outlawing bullying. The penalty for noncompliance? "First offense: one week's suspension. Second offense: a month's suspension. Third offense: transfer to another school. No exceptions!" He also advocates higher education for all NYC teachers (at least one Master's Degree in the subject of their choice). We agree that Bill Thompson needs to concede, already (really, Bill, a few paper ballots are not gonna bring you to the 40 percent you need for a runoff) but things go off the rails when he begins ranting against Thompson—and blacks in general. "I'm not a racist, but…" and he's off to the races. Gulp. I express my disapproval and try to reign him in but he's now slagging off the city's entire Puerto Rican and Spanish community. Oh, Jeebus. Thankfully, my cab reaches its destination before I'm forced to physically slap some sense into him (as if that's even possible). Another New York cabbie conversation gone bad. Oy. But I've learned to pick my battles in these situations because, as my friend Sharon says, "You can't fight crazy, cause crazy always wins." True dat.

 

The accessories tour continues at the Kotur presentation at…wait for it…The Standard Hotel. Instead of the ubiquitous High Line room on the third floor, designer Fiona Kotur has taken the Empire Suite, which is filled with her colorful, whimsical creations. There are snakeskin wristlets, multimedia evening bags, sparkly clutches and an iPhone 5 minaudière with an outside slot for your cell, so you don't have to open it to read texts or take photos. Clever! I'm entranced by a tiny square snow globe bag with faux expletive graphic—it's got delicate red and gold stars encased in its liquid center that move when you shake it, and a slot for a 3x5 photo on the front. And the designer has introduced shoes for spring 2014, which range from two-tone snakeskin flats to flower and tassel-bedecked sandals to Turkish slippers and cap-toe pumps, all based around a globetrotting theme. "It's about the spirit of travel," the designer explains. "She's a Gypset who's been to Morocco, Istanbul…" Kotur's artist mom, Sheila Camera Kotur, did all the illustrations for the presentation, which depict wildly colorful creatures lounging atop piles of pillows or surrounded by riotous bouquets. "My mother was a successful fashion illustrator in the Seventies and Eighties who gave it up when she became an interior designer," says Fiona. "But she told me that she had so much fun doing these illustrations that she might take it up again." Watch your back, Garance!

After admiring the view from the Standard's top floor, it's on to my next stop: Jeremy Scott at Milk Studios' Made Fashion Week just up the street. As always, it's a celebrity scrum up in here, what with Nicki Minaj, Paris and Nicky Hilton, A$AP Rocky, Chanel Iman, Joe and Kevin Jonas, Liz Goldwyn, Iggy Azalea, Kat Graham, the MisShapes and more boldface names seated directly in front of me. I'm nearly blinded by the photogs shooting the Hiltons and have to resist the urge to photobomb them. (Must…stay…seated.) Jeremy's spring line is titled "Teenagers from Mars" and features a collaboration with the artist Kenny Scharf. His characters appear throughout the collection, as do the phrases "Mars or Bust," "Earth Sucks" and "I'm a Mess." You and me both, JS. The girls sport TV color bar bustiers and miniskirts with flippy, Mary Tyler Moore-as-Laura Petrie 'dos while the boys sport not much at all, save for painted on pants and purple zebra moto jackets. Freda Payne's Band of Gold and The Angels' 1963 classic, My Boyfriend's Back  heighten the feel-good, nostalgic vibe. When one bikini-clad beauty sashays down the runway, I watch A$AP Rocky's jaw drop open (literally) while he mouths "Damn, she fine!" He watches her walk away until girlfriend Chanel Iman playfully slaps him on the leg to regain his attention—though he can't resist craning his neck to catch the rear view as she circles back down the other aisle. Backstage post-show, the couple are all smiles as they pose with Jeremy amid the craziness (and it is, to be sure, a crazy—and crazy crowded—scene). But everyone has a reason to smile as the show was a fun, exuberant paean to Eighties fashion at its finest. 

I'm supposed to catch the Betsey Johnson and Anna Sui shows later tonight, but as Betsey's folks have only seen fit to give me a standing spot (uh, thanks but no thanks), that would leave me with two-plus hours to kill before Sui. So I decide to head home early. On the subway I see an ad that inquires "How ya feelin'?" Well, thanks for asking, MTA. I'm about ready for this Fashion Week madness to be over. And you?


photos by Lauren David Peden/The Fashion Informer, 2013 (except taxi photo by Noel Hidalgo, 2008)