Fashion Funhouse Emporium

Mimi Plange

Jamar, Fashion Funhouse Emporium's fashion week correspondent is often snagged and photographed by street photographers for his unique and edgy style. He headed to the Mimi Plange Presentation for me. He gives us his rundown after the bio.

Mimi Plange strives to design clothes that reflect the mood of a women in garments that are both special and timeless. With a BA in Architecture and a minor in dramatic Art, like many others with similar backgrounds, she turned to fashion design.  She worked with both Rachel Roy and Patricia Field before setting out on her own.

Colors: pink, pastel, white, green, yellow

Materials: sequins, satin, silk

Loved Looks:

View full collection at WWD

Plange took to juxtaposing large scale Eastern floral prints with the traditional dress of the Himba, and the Victorian dress of the Herero. The result was  feminine and strong. The tailoring showed her expertise with clean lines with slightly aggressive shapes. The couture details based on traditional hand crafted garments made for something modern for that special sophisticated woman that does Mimi Plange justice. Her collaboration with  Manolo Blahnik showcased along side her collection featuring an amazing nude sandals with leather cut outs and leather tassels, as well as a silk floral beaded bootie that could stand on its on.

Unloved Looks:

Next to the amazing floral looks, a plain pink sheath dress gets passed right by.

People, Music and Scene:

This presentation was relatively low key, that is if you didn't cross paths with Andre Leon Tally and Rachel Zoe, both who are putting thier support behind the new designer. Held at Asian Society on the Upper East Side of NY, the collection was presented beneath a beautiful floral installation.

Rating:

Two and Three Quarter Karl Lagerfelds out of Four

MIMI PLANGE

Born in Ghanaian, Mimi Plange started her line in 2007 with a design mission to make clothes that marry sportswear with haute culture.  For the Fall 2011 season, "The Scarred Perfection" collection was inspired by the ancient practice of African Tribal Scarification.

Colors: Bright Orange, neutral tones, black

Materials: Satin, Leather, Mohair, Wool, Cotton and Silk

Looks Loved:

With linear patterns, pleating and embellishments, she translated body scarring tribal identification-which seems taboo to some into beautiful clothing that is not at all alienating.

The mohair-wool blend cape with leather embellishments was beyond chic, and I wanted to grab it and run, especially since it was only 18 degrees out. The model was adorable too, posing for me and my tiny point and shoot camera amongst gargantuan pro photo gear.

Looks Unloved:

Nothing in this presentation stood out to me giving me that "Gah!" reaction. The only comment I could make is that I spent time studying the dresses and separates that I did love. If nothing out of place jumped out, then the pieces were cohesive. One dress may have been less interesting than the other intricately, well tailored looks that I did love. It's hard to tell that Mimi Plange has been working on her line for only four years.

People, Scene and Music:

Relatively quiet and like the clothing, the mood was elegant. People consisted of mostly professional photographers dressed in black. In the back of the venue, a few clusters of people took advantage of some complimentary drinks. Though, no one seemed to be at the point of uncontrollable voice projection.

There were strange bubbling bowls of water, which I assume may have been dry ice for that beauties in the mist feel. If it was in fact for a steamy ambiance, I missed that part by the time I reached the venue. Models were stationary, I kind of wished they would have rotated at least once while I was there, but again, they may have. No one was waiting for this bloggers grand appearance.

Music was provided by DJ Puppa Sacha, with nothing Shazam identifiable.

Read Essense Magazine's Q & A with Mimi Plange

Read More about Mimi Plange's Fall 2011 inspiration at DirtyDurty