Fashion Funhouse Emporium

Georges Chakra

Georges Chakra debuted his first ready to wear line, Edition Georges Chakra, in New York in 2009. Chakra initially started in haute couture shows in France in 2002.

I must admit, I haven't paid much attention to this designer, until this season. I was late for his show at the Tents in Lincoln Center. When I walked in, it was playing on the large screen. I was mesmerized. Not one to be into gala gowns (seriously, when will a blogger from Fashion Funhouse Emporium need one?) I still couldn't walk away. I'm actually glad I caught the show outside, in the lobby on a jumbo-tron screen. It gave a much better view of the perfectly tailored and uniquely detailed gowns than I would've got from my seat.

If he's not one of the hottest designers dressing celebrities this spring, then he should be. I must mention as well, the white and lighters gowns would make great wedding dresses for out of the box thinking brides.

Check it out for yourself in this Mercedes Benz Fashion Week video.

Chris Benz

Chris Benz grew up in Seattle. At age 17 he came to New York to study at Parsons. With an internship at Marc Jacobs under his belt, he went on to work for J Crew. In 2007, he showed his first collection at New York Fashion Week.

Colors: green, yellow, orange, blue, neutrals

Materials: knits, cotton, tulle, leather, chiffon

Loved Looks

Photos: Style.com. Click to see full collection

While many fashion reviews may think this too 60's, his collection translates well to right now. Back to the 60's is a big trend this year (Miu Miu pre-fall, Nina Ricci resort, Marni) and Benz is keeping a good thing going for Spring 2011. With a bursts of bright colors and patterns, his stand out looks were the mini pleated skirts, tie neck blouses--in a couple different colors because when it works, stick with it. The floral shoes with the neutral hued dress were the result of a collaborative effort  with Alejandro Ingelmo, which gave the looks an extra boost.

Unloved Looks

While his ruffled shirt and floral skirt combo was nice, that is my point. In a collection of bold, fun pieces, this one was the snoozer of the bunch.

Music

60's french pop music played to match his them of how we silly Americans see Parisians--if it was the 60's.

People and Scene

Though presentations are usually low-key, this one was full of heavy-hitters. Kelly Osborne, who made the rounds as several shows, Susan Sarandon, Denise Richards and Carmen Electra.

Karen Walker

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

Photo: Style.com

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

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.

Leifsdottir

Finland native Johanna Uurasjarvi presents her first runway showing of her Leifsdottir line. The wholesale brand debuted in 2008, but since then, she's only held presentations.  A member of the URBN Inc family (Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and Free People) her designs stay true to the company's journey to bring unique, artistic garments to the main stream.

Colors: nude, white, black, light pastel orange, safari green

Materials: Snakeskin, silk, silk organza, chiffon, leather, cotton twill, jersey,

Loved Looks

Photos: Zimbio

Since its a brand owned by Urban Outtfitters and sold in Anthropologie, girls on the street will be wearing these pieces separately with jeans, cargos, t-shirts and tanks. Though, the serpent skin skirts and shorts were standout as well as the staple black cotton dresses and little cropped black jackets. The leather pailette jacket had a great fit, and the styling with the circle sunglasses lent a bit more hipness.

Unloved Looks

Photos: Zimbio

Patent leather black trim tops were unnecessary and didn't fit. I could have lived without the Alexander Wang influenced sheer shirt and exposed bra looks.

Music

Mr Wilson DJ provided the soundtrack. Fun Fact: He also does the music for The Blonds shows.

People and Scene

Showed in the box of Lincoln Center. As we entered we were entranced with a pesky royal blue tine black-light, the backdrop of the runway consisted of two tanks made up of greenery as well as safari imagery on the wall screens.  No celebs, but lots of bloggers, taking pictures of the attendees and not much of the show.

Reviewed by Jamar Graham for Fashion Funhouse Emporium. Jamar atttened New York's Parsons School of Design. He's worked for WGSN and currently writes his own blog called Treated Material. He is also launching his own clothing line to be announced soon.

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Buckler

If you want to dress your boyfriend like a bad ass bloke this coming spring, then you'll want to check out Buckler. If you're not a huge fan of tight sweats and men in harem pants, some of these pieces may not before you. The sky blue suit with long white v neck tee is pretty sexy without too much gloss, as are the basic blazers over printed tees.

He's not exactly a new comer. His US store opened in New York's meatpacking district in 2005. His collections have been a hit in Europe since 2001 with his inspiration being "The English bloke meets New York"

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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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JIll Stuart

Jill Stuart came from a fashion family. Her parents owned a prominent sportswear company in the 60's and 70's. Jill sold her first accessories collection to Bloomingdales at  age15. The pieces included suede fringed hobos and silver and leather chokers.  Her Jill Stuart Collection began in 1993 to much notoriety including in the wardrobe of the film Clueless.

Colors: Cream, black, yellow, tan

Materials: Satin, silks, sheer

Loved Looks

Photos: Style.com

Jill Stuart took a step down from the tough girl pedastool and returned to looks that built her name. Her dresses, tuxedo suits and separates were not a knock back to the "Cluless" days but rather proof that like all of us, she's growing up. The minimal trend seems to be the way to go for spring 2011, as its been the most seen on the runways thus far, including Jill Stuart.  The quirky print librarian shirt, the ultra feminine flowing dress and the strong fem-masculine tuxedo were the stand out pieces

Unloved Looks

Photos: Style.com

Whats up with these shorts? They look as if  the model went into Casual Male XL and asked "what's the biggest size shorts you got? Size 58 mens? Great. Ill take em!" Then she put a belt around her waist and rocked them on the runway. The shirt is cute though.

Music

Shazam Iphone app failed me. Lets just say dancey-beat stuff.

People and Scene

Reality-show-a-palooza in the Lincoln Center Tents. Lots of regular people and lots of "regular" people with TV shows: Brad from Rachel Zoe Project, the America's Next Top Model crew, the Kardashians.

To Gift or Not to Gift: Everyday we are alive is a gift, people. (can you tell I didn't get a gift bag?)

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Cynthia Rowley

Cynthia Rowley is one of the more established lines that you'll read about on this blog during fashion week. She is synonymous with happy go lucky designs, which over the past couple of years she's turned into an empire. With diapers, kids clothes, Band-Aids, bride-maids dresses, home and apparel, she has branded herself as a lifestyle designer.

Colors: black, yellow, pale blues, coral and gray

Materials: silks, knits

Loved Looks

Photo: fabsugar

Photo: fabsugar

Photo: fabsugar

In a fashion week exhibiting plenty of  minimal dressing, Cynthia Rowley manages to take the trend and make it interesting. What is exciting about Rowley is that she keeps moving and isn't afraid of new direction. While many of the pieces in her fall 2010 collection weren't avante garde enough for the arty editorials,  and too hip for the mass market. it was hard to categorize them. This season there is something for everyone. Rowley showed fun editorial ready skirts with cut outs, bubbled dresses and pants and chic simple silhouettes accessorised with tube-like necklaces and big barrettes.

Unloved Looks

Photo: fabsugar

These pants were a little bit too Sonny and Cher 70's variety show for me.

Music

Bloc Party and Brooklyn's Holy Ghost

People and Scene

It was mad early in the morning. In fact too early for this night owl. Though, the tent shows don't provide much freedom for an original scene, but she picked up some pieces and showed her collection in front of  the New York City Ballet Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet backdrops. Her star studded people packed crowd included Rebecca Romijin, Nigel Barker, Aisha Taylor, Tracy Ellis Ross and Alan Cumming, all who showed up looking luminous and wide awake. Unlike me.

To Gift or Not to Gift:  Cynthia Rowley Band Aids