Fashion Funhouse Emporium

Erin Fetherston

Erin Fetherston was born in California and studied at Parsons in Paris. In 2005 she began with a couture line. Her first ready to wear line debuted at the old home of fashion week, New York's Bryant Park in 2007.

Colors: ivory, light brown, pinks, yellow coral, gold, green

Materials: lace, cotton, crepe de chine, silk faille, viscose, linen, chiffon

Looks Loved

photos: wwd

Pictures don't do these pieces much justice since Erin's mix of fabrics and textures are the real draw to her clothing. Like many other designers, she chose a lighter palette fused with pops of bright jewel tone colors.  When seeing an Erin Fetherston collection, it is always expected that there will be a sugary sweet dress that appeals to all of us girls who spend most of our time trying to be tough. Her blush crepe overlay dress and the coral halter gown was just that. I also champagne jacket and shorts suit. Its such a chic way to wear shorts which can look frumpy at times. Extra points for styling the clothes with shoes from Aldo, confirming that style doesn't have to be head to toe expensive.

Unloved Looks

Photos: WWD

The black dress with and orange bow in this collection seemed like an afterthought. Perhaps she thought she needed to add more black since some of the pieces were black and white print. I don't think it was needed. The combination of black and orange is reminiscent of Halloween, which is far from the happy place this collection represents.

Music

There was a song that Shazam iphone app couldn't match that included the shows theme "Birds of Paradise" I believe. Other songs that my favorite app could pick up: Jungle Drum by Emilana Torrini, You Can't Hurry Love by The Concretes and Electric Light Orchestra's "Don't Bring Me Down." Indeed.

People and Scene

It was a feel good paradise in Milk Studios. While waiting in the standing line I met two young kids, wearing matching vests who were friendly though I butted into their conversation. The line waiting to get in was so long and they kept saying they hoped they got in. They did.  Kelly Osborne, who I'd seen earlier that day at Elise Overland was sitting front row, in a different outfit than she wore to the previous show. She smiled and snapped pictures of Erin as she walked the runway for her final bow.

To Gift or Not to Gift

Guest sipped champagne and there was a bright orange gerber daisy on each seat. I collected a couple before I left that just lie there sadly waiting. A girl exiting the show said "you're like me. Don't you think this better than any gift bag?" I did!

Bonus Video!

Check out a video directed by Marisa Crawford, who I had the pleasure of assisting in the past. The video, "Birds of a Fether" showcased last fall's collection.

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Trias

Joaquin Trias was born in Spain and is self- taught. He started his collection in 2009 and showed his first collection at New York Fashion Week during the Spring 2010 season.

Colors: white, red, light brown, red

Materials: cotton, wool, taffeta, raffia, viscose

Loved Looks

More of the minimal trend graced the runways at Trias. For the woman who is shopping for a well made basic dress, Trias delivers. For the Spring 2011 season, this is the label's first addition of accessories. Rope belts, boots, pumps with wooden platforms added an extra touch of sophistication to each look.

Unloved Looks

If we are talking about fashion shows in terms of the "show" aspect, this one was as vanilla as it gets. Its not that there was a lack of skill or beautiful garments, but seeing very little variation in siloutte and color walk hypnotically down the runway made it hard to keep focus.  Many designers this season went heavy on the minimal looks which can be great for buyers, but for those of us watching for a garment that burns in the memory, this wasn't one of those shows.

Music

Sun in the Rain By Ellen Allien and Dead Disco Dancer by O Children

People and Scene

This was a Lincoln Center tent show without much hub bub. A woman sitting in the third row back had a full on Marie Antoinette hair style. That was pretty cool.

To Gift or Not to Gift: Nope.

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Elise Overland

Elise Overland, a Norwegian born beauty, had aspirations to be a professional skier, Thankfully for us, she was snatched up to do some designs for some rock n'rollers like Steven Tyler. Her signature is leather pieces combined with a feminine touch.

Colors: black, olive, cream, white, electric blue, chartreuse

Materials: lace, leather, jersey, cotton

Loved Looks

Photos: WWD

It was a cult late 60's movie vibe at Elise Overland.  It was kitsch done right that would make any downtown girl want to rush to the nearest boutique carrying Elise's one piece v neck leather jumpsuit with boho white top. Her rock n' roll roots can't escape her. There were plenty of pieces that would be great for stylists to grab for their clients including a deep v leather dress and all lace black dress. For us non-rock stars, there were pieces for us as well, including minimalist silk dresses and a cropped tiered black leather jacket.

Unloved Looks

Photos: WWD

Chartrueuse is a very hard color to wear for many people. Still, those who can rock bright colors and not look like they have jaundice (that would not be me) have a beautiful lace dress and silk pieces to choose from.

Music

Superstar by Aeroplane played with a surprise appearance by acclaimed violinist Hahn Bin. Bin walked the runway with playing a solo while wearing Elise's electric blue top and black leather multi-tiered skirt. The show ended with The Race by Yello.

Photo: Courtesy of Elise Overland

People and Scene

Elise Overland's show was held off-site at Exit Art. The bench seats and enough space provided a view to see everything with out poking over other people's heads. Socialites and Kelly Osborne sat front row. Hahn Bin's live musical runway strut added drama to the already cool, unique collection inspired by the cult fashion movie "Blow Up" and old African colonial uniforms.

To Gift or Not to Gift

Those new wierd drinks that look like shampoo bottles (Neuro drinks) were on the first three rows of seats along with black and white striped giftbags that probably included swag from sponsors like Fekkai, Tweezerman, intraceuticals, PrintinNYC and Napolean Perdis.

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Yuna Yang

Listed as one of Fashion Funhouse Emporium's "Women's Designers to Watch", it seems I was not alone in choosing Yuna Yang. She can be found on a similar list from The Cut blog.  The New York based designer and Central Saint Martin's graduate is showed her third collection this season.

Colors: white, black, pale pink, birght blue

Materials: lace, silk, cotton

Loved Looks

Photo: WWD

Photo: WWD

Photo: WWD

With one "house dress" and glamorous evening wear, Yang pulled together a cohesive collection which stood by her theme: "My Black Wedding Dress." If you didn't attend, the show was not about alternative goth bridal gowns, but rather a look at house wives of the 60's. With the title, the collection, the venue, one can come to the conclusion that there is a woman who's waiting to be liberated. A well done glamorous showing exuded this influence. Aside from the inspiration of the collection, Yang showed clothes that women will want to wear. The stand out looks included a  stunning long sleeve white ruffled gown, a vintage-inspired movie starlet pink classic gown and a very Jackie O embellished dress.

Unloved Looks:

Photo: WWD

This look didn't read as dramatic as the other looks that were shown in the collection. Perhaps it was the ruching from the breast to the waist, but it just didn't have the wow factor.

Music

Francais, s'il vous plait!

People and Scene

Yuna Yang showed at the Hudson Hotel - Private Park. With the upscale feel and the very feminist inspiration of the collection, she managed to create a melancholy silence with the choice of this venue. Just a random thought: We need more trees at fashion week.

To Gift or Not to Gift: Hmm. Maybe I should eliminate this section all together in my reviews.

Ports 1961

Ports was a Canadian sportswear label that developed in 1961. In 1990, under the creative team of Dean and Dan Caten of DSquared in 1990, Tia Cibiani stepped in. Then in 2002 she became the creative director, launching the North American division. For the past five years she designed the label, inspired by her travels in China and around the world. It was announced earlier this year that Tia was stepping down, and her older sister, Fiona took the helm.

Colors: off white, ivory, amethyst, emerald, sapphire

Materials: Silk twills, chiffon, linen, and cotton.

Looks Loved

Photo: Style.com

Photo: Style.com

Photo: Style.com

With sister Fiona designing for Ports 1961, if you didn't read in the news that Tia stepped down, you wouldn't know at all. Ports 1961 signature draped minimalist dresses and unique accessories were still the staples of the line. With inspiration of from the desert (which seems to be a running theme for spring 2011) and the shapes and colors that exist with in, pieces were angular and shapely.  What was particularly great about the styling was the jewelry. Iridescent statement necklaces added intrigue to an otherwise minimal piece, creating the very aesthetic that Ports 1961 followers love: the ability to look put together and chic without over doing it.

Unloved Looks

Photo: Style.com

This season's collection seemed to skew a bit older, which works if that is who you plan on selling to. Though I believed more of basic draped dresses, especially the black one shoulder mid length piece could've benefited with at least one knock out accessory. If there were any, I wasn't seeing them from my seat.  My least favorite was the sapphire strapless belted draped gown. It seemed a bit bridal to me and didn't really fit with the other looks' more modern cuts.

Music

Shazam iPhone app caught one song at this show: Orkenvandring by Prins Thomas

People and Scene

This show was held in one of the larger tents at Lincoln Center. Most of the lower rows filled quickly but standers still got to fill in seats. I was sitting in the very last row, which is always a challenge when wanting to check out the footwear as well. As I was sitting there, a guy came and sat down in front of his friend (in my row) and immediately said in a snotty tone "Are there blog bugs up here?" The friend looked in my direction and snotted back, "Uh, probably." I didn't know there was a name for bloggers among those who are married and devoted to print. You learn something new everyday. Though, he may be surprised to know that I work in print as well. I've just joined that place called the World Wide Web as well...because its 2010. Behind me, standing, women with Southern accents were celebrity spotting, calling out "Who is that? Is that...?" She was resting her purse on the back of my chair and even as I nudged it a couple of times, she wasn't moving it. Though if people were there to see who was who, there were plenty of notables to gawk at: Miss Jay Alexander of Next Top Model sat front row a few seats down from the alluring Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington, who had her wild red hair pulled back. My FIT teacher Rosemary Ponzo and her avante garde head wear was also in the front row, working the crowd. Stylist and fashion personality Phillip Bloch wore a red drivers cap. Somewhere in the crowd was Olivia Palermo.  Fellow "blog bug" Roberta Corriea from "Who Cares: Its Only Fashion" Tweeted me from across the venue.

To Gift or Not to Gift:

I could barely see the shoes, so I didn't notice gifting either.

CONCEPT KOREA

The Concept Korea show was an initiative from the The Republic of Korean Ministry Culture, Sports and Tourism to bring South Korean designers build their business internationally. This show featured three runway collections in one show: Hyun Joo Kwak, Juyoung Lee and Lee Jean Youn.

Viideo: Montreal Gazette

Pucca by Hyun Joo Kwak

Kwak has been around since 2006, showing at Seoul Fashion Week. Her inspiration for the Concept Korea show is actually a popular animated character named Pucca, who is popular in Korea, With a very much Japanese-like anime and street style, her line could fair well with a young demographic. Her pieces were colorful neon greens, oranges and pinks paired with sexy sporty, the first model to walk the runway held an apple, like the witch in Snow White, only this version was a teen drama combined with a futuristic vibe.

Juyoung Lee

This is not Lee's first visit to the United States. She's actually a graduate of Parsons School of Design. She launched her line Resurrection and even worked with Marilyn Manson during his "Eat Me, Drink Me" album music video and world tour wardrobes. An edgy designer, her pieces have a place here in the US. Similar to lines like Lina Osterman, she describes her pieces as "genderless," though from what I could tell, her models were all males. Though the kilt styles are a Marc Jacobs thing at the moment, she showed trench coats fused with wind breakers, leather, spats, and lots of layering, including leather tees.

Lee Jean Youn

Buzz already exists in Paris regarding Youn. He's shown at Paris Haute Couture Collections in 2010 and participated in the city's Paris: Who's Next Exhibition. He's also collaborated with retailer, Mango overseas which can still be found on ASOS. Hes received praise from Marie Claire and Project Runway's Nina Garcia and the legendary Mr. Oscar de la Renta (whose son, Moses de la Renta did a line of tees for Mango as well).

Youn's show was the stand out of the bunch, though its not a fair comparison since each Concept Korea collection reached for a different type of wearer. Though Youn's organza dresses and intricate mash up of individual pieces were hard to stop gawking at. The show audience had enough time to look though, since each model walked the runway and stayed there.

Music

From house, beep and thump to organ infused digital, the music provided a real fashion show vibe. Shazam iphone app managed to identify a  couple of tunes: Growls Garden by Clark, Deeper and Deeper by Dave Gahan which was more rock and dark.

People and Scene

The Lincoln Center showing was held in one of the larger tents. Seats filled in the first couple of rows, which led me to think that important people are interested in checking out Korean designers. The runway entrance for models included a jumbo tron screen. At the start of the show, a short film montage of all the designers concepts blazed on the screen. Amercian's take note: its a show and that's how you do it. With so many old school white backgrounds and just a parade of models in sell-able paired down clothing, this way of presenting was a welcome bang. It makes me wonder why more often than not, fashion that recieves press in the US are names we all recognize and it seems tough to break into our clique. Its been proven that we Americans are creatures of habit, which is why chain stores do so well with the same garments, set up on alike displays, though different cities.

To Gift or Not to Gift

The first couple of rows got something, I think.

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Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center is approaching quickly. Like past seasons, the tents will compete with Milk Studios shows and other off-site locations.  Fashion Funhouse Emporium's credentials as a legit source of coverage have finally been approved. Yay! I suppose this means I can officially talk about who I want to check out with some "street cred!"

Here are the women's designers showing at Spring 2011 fashion week that I am curious to see. Good, bad, and in between, this is what the shows are all about.

YUNA YANG

Photo: Yuna Yang Blog

This New York based fashion designer has two past collections on her site. This season, she'll be showing at Lincoln Center.  When I checked out her collections, I see potential from this Central Saint Martins grad, yet there is some question to who she wants to be as a designer. Her pieces range artsy, structural suits to very basic looking ready to wear. I'd like to see her go full throttle,with Galliano couture, if she's really not focused on selling as her biography states.  We need some more craziness at New York shows.

JENNY PACKHAM

Photo: Jenny Packham

I am familiar with Jenny Packham's lacy and ultra feminine luxury wedding collections from when I worked at In Style Weddings. Of course, I'm ready to see what this British designer (also a Central Saint Martins alumni) will send down the runway for ready to wear again this spring. Her past couple of collections showcased red carpet ready dresses, which isn't too much of a stray from matrimonial gowns. So far, she's a bit of an edgier Carolina Herrera, keeping with the high end evening wear aesthetic.

WILLIAM TEMPEST

Photo: William Tempest

Another Brit on the New York scene, this designer's past collections have been pretty basic geometric influenced body conscious dresses. He's worked with some heavy-hitters, like Jean Charles de Castlebajac and Giles Deacon. He's even designed accessories and clothing for Miss Madge, Madonna to you others. It will be interesting to see this guy evolve, hopefully away from Alexander McQueen/ Balmain style dresses and into his own signature.

PARKCHOOMOO

Photo: Parkchoomoo

So I'm not only giving preference to the British designers this season, enter Seoul, Korea's Parkchoomoo. This designer has been around fashion for a while. Her family owned a children's apparel company in Kimje, in the southern part of the country.  She opened her first retail store in 1988, but since then has had a mostly Asian following. With a less rigid Calvin Klein simplicity, and little less fear of color, she's not about getting better, for shes already established. She's about taking over a new market. I'd like to see what she has in store for the US.

IRINA SHABAYEVA

Photo: Irina Shabayeva

She's trying hard to shed her Project Runway affiliation and become a force in fashion. Last season she crept quietly on to the runway with an off-site show that showed off what she can do with a little financial backing from Tupperwear. I'm assuming this year, she may not be sponsored by the plastics company since she's no longer a newbie. But it is my guess that lack of petroleum based synthetics will not hinder her.  With the imagination showcased last season, as long as she keeps to her own without compromise, she'll be around for more than 15 minutes of reality television fame.

READ MORE PAST FASHION WEEK COVERAGE:

Spring 2011 Men's Designers to Watch

Irina Shabayeva Runway Fall 2010

Fall 2010 Condensed Report A-L

Fall 2010 Condensed Report M-Z