Fashion Funhouse Emporium

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

Jose Duran

Jose Duran, a relatively new face on the scene at New York Fashion Week, hails from the Dominican Republic. This good looking designer has the clothes to match, though not in a typical pretty sense. He's designs are edgy and innovation which is why the industry should take note.

For the Spring 2011 season, Duran showed his collection at The Time Warner Center in New York.

Photo: Berit Group/ Jose Duran

Photo: Berit Group/ Jose Duran

Photo: Berit Group/ Jose Duran

Check out this episode of Designing Minds for look into the creative process of Jose Duran, from Zoom in Design.

Thuy

Thuy (pronounced Thwee) Diep was born in Vietnam to a family of tailors. She studied at the famed Parsons School of Design, but not before getting her degree at Brown University. Thuy's entrepreneurial spirit combined with a knack for design led her to launch her line back in 2006.

Colors: Cream, Orange, Yellow

Materials: silk dupioni, silk, cotton, sequins

Loved Looks

Photos: WWD

Thuys looks were a combination of hip and vintage. Many reminded me of 1920's sportswear.  Women who would wear this collection are looking for dresses that aren't too off the wall, but are not run of the mill. This is where Thuy's strengths lie. She can take an ordinary skirt, add some raffia-like detail and it becomes a more stylish piece. With her use of separates in many looks, many of these pieces can stand alone in any woman's closet. Her jewel toned sequin floral dress and tank is great for the younger, more contemporary crowd.

Unloved Looks

Photos: WWD

The perforated cotton pieces: shirts, skirts, dresses, tended to look repetitious. Though the pieces varied, the fabric did not.  Some of the color-block body conscious dress reminded me of early Proenza Schouler. While it shows Thuy has great technical skills, its hard for any designer to do anything remotely similar due to the immense success Proenza for Target dress and the runway version.

Music

It was a girl anthem soundtrack with a cover of David Bowie's Ashes to Ashes by Warpaint, Contact by Brigitte Bardot and Here Sometimes by Blonde Redhead.

People and Scene

The show was held at the Audi car showroom on Park Avenue. I have to say it, this venue was fug. Between the portable trade show curtains and the mechanical car part posters, it looked like, well, a car showroom. I'm not sure what the correlation is between car sales and fashion. Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and now Audi? New York City has an efficient public transportation system for us market editor/assistant/bloggers who can't afford a car, let alone luxury cars.  That said, kudos to the seating arrangements. There were bleachers for standing tickets and plenty of benches for all who attended to see the collection without having to strain.

To Gift or Not to Gift: There were Audi brochures laying around if anyone was interested.

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