New York Fashion Week Spring 2011 - Karen Walker

Fashion Emporium Editor — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:32:39 EDT

Karen Walker's street style and high end combination has a devoted following, especially overseas. Since 2002, this New Zealand designer has been cranking out unpretentious designs for the cool girls, who want to wear something a bit different, but without going all out avante garde.

Colors: green, yellow, orange, gray, light blue, nuetrals

Fabrics: cotton voile, crepe de chine, chiffon, cotton

Loved Looks

Photo: Style.com

Karen Walker's prints have to be looked at up close to be fully appreciated. I loved last season's weird deer/fly print. From far away, one wouldn't notice. That's what makes her patterns especially cool since you don't expect it. Bright colors paired with neutrals gives this collection a down played but fun aesthetic. I would wear each one of these looks for as an anytime outfit. Where Karen Walker's strengths may go unnoticed is her accessories. Have you seen the sunglasses? When I was doing market work for a stylist, I made sure to email the showroom and say "Make sure you show her the Karen Walker sunglasses!" Sure enough, the stylist came back with a handful for a shoot. Her collaboration with Pointer on the loafer shoes is classic, yet with that twist of cool that she does best.

Unloved Looks

Photo: Style.com

While mixing prints has been all the rage since last spring, if not done properly, the look tends to look as if the model escaped from the mad house and accidentally strolled onto the runway in a confused stupor. Individually, pieces were great, though I really think we should all get over t-shirts carrying messages, especially when mixed with busy printed sweats.

Music

N/A

People and Scene

Exit Art is a great venue for off-site shows. If it wasn't in West-Bumblef*ck, it would be the best show venue to see collections. Set up with benches and viewing for all, Karen Walker was not stingy with the gift bags. If you managed to wrangle a seat, you got one. Her eccentricly cool followers attended as well as editors, bloggers and a few social scene girls.

Photo: Zimbio

Fashion Week Fall 2010: Fashion Funhouse Emporium's Condensed Report (A to L)

Fashion Emporium Editor — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:19:29 EST

New York Fashion Week: Fall 2010

I have been swinging my job as a stylist and trying to be the sole editor of Fashion Funhouse Emporium.

Due to work, over-lapping shows, a smack to the face from the wall in my apartment building and just plain tiredness, I haven't been keeping up with the blog the way I'd like to. So I decided to give a sort of condensed, sort of half-assed report on the rest of Fall 2010 runway shows.

It seems that Coutorture did a great job keeping up with photos. And as always, Style.com and New York Magazine have full collection photos.

You just won't get my insightful commentary on the scene--which actually may be a blessing.

By the way, where did the term "half-ass" come from? My mom used to yell at me when I did chores without full effort, like the kitchen: "Don't half-ass the dishes!" Dictionary.com says that the origin of the of the phrase comes from "perhaps a humorous mispronunciation of haphazard."

Anyway, here are the shows that haven't been covered on the blog as of yet! Enjoy!

A Detacher

Colors: Cobalt Blue, army green, brown, gray, pink

Collection Vibe: Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and Annie Hall all wrapped snuggly in a wool blanket under the stars. It's slightly grunge, almost Western, definitely bo-ho with tailored sophisticate.

Trend Spotting: Velvet

Stand Out Look:

Click to view the full collection

Alice + Oliva

Colors: Black, gray, blush-pink

Collection Vibe: Alice and Olivia is known for their fun, party-girl clothing. This season is no different with ruffles, short skirts and sequins.

Trend Spotting: Leather

Stand Out Look:

Click to see full collection.

Andy and Debb

Colors: Black, Brown, grey, pink, metallic bronze and one white piece.

Collection Vibe: A favorite of mine, this under-rated husband and wife team creates minimal and lady-like with unmatched creativity compared to other lines in its price point.

Trends Spotting: Leather and Fur.

Stand Out Look:

Click to see full collection

Band of Outsiders

Colors: Gray, and primary colors, neutrals

Collection Vibe: Their niche is for the art school students who've graduated into the adult world. It's "I don't give a funk what you think...but I kind of do." Grabbing faces such as Jason Schwatzman, Marisa Tomei and Kirsten Dunst for their campaigns, the Fall 2010 collection continues to cater to this clique.

Trend Spotting: Fur, Suiting, Preppy

Stand Out Look:

Click to see the full collection

Billy Reid

Colors: Neutrals

Collection Vibe: Clint Eastwood meets Sigmund Freud and a random British dandy. The models who showed the collection sometimes scared me. They would cause me to cross to the other side of the street if they were coming my direction.

Trend Spotting: Suiting, Leather

Stand Out Look:

Click to View Complete Collection

Binetti

Colors: White, red, yellow and black

Collection Vibe: Donatella Versace meets "Dynasty" era Joan Collins, and then Chole Sevigny stops by the party for a bit.

Trends: Embellishments

Stand Out Look: (This was hard. They all stood out...not sure if that's such a good thing.)

Click to see the full collection

Brian Reyes

Colors: red, orange, yellow (no green) blue, violet, black, grey and brown.

Collection Vibe: Brian Reyes' flow is minimal. Yet, with this collection, he adds graphics and color done in simplicity. Reyes takes risks with the Calvin-esque aesthetic, sometimes working and sometimes not.

Trend Spotting: Fur, Minimalist

Stand Out Look:

Click here to view the full collection

Elise Overland

Colors: Black, red, navy blue, burnt orange

Collection Vibe: Inspired by a video a friend sent of an open heart surgery, Elise was "inspired by the lush layers of texture and rich glossy colors of the heart." Still, this collection does not stray away from her signature, rock n' roll sophisticate.

Trends Spotting: Leather, fur, velvet

Stand Out Look:

Click to view full collection

Halston

Colors: red, orange yellow (again, no green) blue, purple, grey and black

Collection Vibe: The 70's born label's rebirth showed scaled back silhouettes, in-your-face color and just a touch of embellishments. Though, the best pieces were the classic Halston long dresses.

Trends Spotting: Minimal, color, fur, leather

Stand Out Look:

Click to view full collection

Isaac Mizrahi

Colors: White, black, yellow, green and orange

Collection Vibe: Kept lady with flair Issac's runway always shows his versatility as a designer. It's a slight stray from his Issac Mizrahi for Target, which became the start of high-low designer collaborations. Yes, I'm calling him the God Father of the movement.

Trends: More fur and leather. Color, Lady-like, embellished

Stand Out Look:

Click to view the full collection

Karen Walker

Colors: navy blue, gray, burnt orange

Collection Vibe: Prep School Sophisticate Boho made over by the flamboyant drama club kid

Trend Spotting: Again with the fur, suiting, velvet, embellishments

Stand Out Look:

Click to view full collection

Liefsdottir

Colors: pink, black, ivory

Collection Vibe: Feminine, vintage with an edge of sensual burlesque.

Trend Spotting: Ruffles, Fall floral

Stand Out Look:

Click to view full collection

Lorick

Colors: Green, neutrals, black

Collection Vibe: She dresses in 1930's vintage and hangs out at the library. The Internet is for chumps. At night she hits up an old haunt that used to be a speakeasy during prohibition, where kids now talk about old literature and how current movies, books and music are "for the birds."

Trend Spotting: Velvet, Lady-like, embellished

Stand Out Look:

Click to view full collection