Vivienne Tam is one of the more established shows you'll see here. Her runway show was one of the first I ever attended. As an intern back in 2006, when swag bags made it past the first three rows, I was so excited to walk out of her show blown away by the beautifully feminine garments how (and with a red floral embroidered make-up bag that I still use 5 years later).
Tam's Eastern inspired clothing hasn't changed much since 1994, proving that she knows what works and sells for the woman she designs for. She started an Asian inspired craze in which other designers tried to imitate. Some of the pieces from her early collection were given a home in my hometown of Pittsburgh at the Andy Warhol museum, among others like FIT. What has changed is that she is now a lifestyle brand.
Tam has always been on the cutting edge of technology. Long before she collaborated with HP on the clutch book, she designed phone cases for Motorola she's partnered with Stardolls in a virtual online clothing boutique for teens and has participated in designing the costumes for an animated film.
She's also established herself as a personality having been a judge on The Fashion Show and Project runway and is an author of the book "China Chic."
Colors: navy, black, shades of blue and a dash of red
Materials: wool, tweed, chiffon, silk, knits
Loved Looks
View the full collection on Style.com
Where some critics may feel she pulls out too many of the stops, I didn't mind so much. Its her thing. If you can do multiple back flips without falling, then why not? Though I suppose showing off can tire some. Her knits and simple crop pants were main stream ready, but have details that make them a bit more interesting than your average department store sweater. But then again, if you own your own stores around the world, then why not get crazy with the embellishments?
Unloved Looks
Some pieces went a bit too crazy to the point of confusion. Sometimes one less element is a good thing.
People, Scene, Music
The show was at one of the larger venues in the Lincoln Center tents. I wondered why it was so large, but then again, Vivienne Tam embraced bloggers long before designers thought it was cute to have Tavi and Bryanboy attend their shows. Yes, Bryanboy was there, along with a contestant from The Fashion Show, who was telling his story with teary eyes to the girl in the seat next to him. Model Petra Nemcova was there, surrounded by photographers. An older lady in a crocheted vest next to me asked if I knew who she was as if hosting some fashion show celeb spotting tour. I pretended I didn't speak English. Kidding. I told her. Angela Simmons daughter of Rev Run of Run DMC, Reshma Shetty, Eric West, Nigel Barker, Sisalee Lopez and one of the chicks from one of the seasons from The Bachelor weren't the only unrecognizable yet recognizable people there. What was cool about this show was the big screen, which I've never seen in operation at these rock-arena style shows. It gave ample viewing to those of us in the back rows. My Shazam app picked up the groove on the song Ay Ay Ay by Duke Reid and Nora Dean.
Video
Karl-head Rating
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