NY Fashion Week -- Spring 2012

I have been smitten by all things clothing and fashion related since I was a very young girl.  Making doll clothes by hand was my obsession as soon as I could maneuver a needle and thread.  The summer that I turned 12, my Mom signed us up for Mom & Me sewing classes.  I took to it like a duck in water and was sewing rings round my Mom by the end of that glorious summer.  In Jr. High School, I wrote a column called "Fads and Fashions" for our school paper.  I continued writing about it in High School, changing my column to "Lines from Leslie".  The AP/Honors students of my high school were required to write a senior thesis on our intended careers.  Mine was on becoming a fashion designer.  
I came to Pasadena to attend college in 1971 on the day that I turned 18.  I went to college, majored in English, and Child Development.  During College, I worked part time at J C Pennney, and after at La Befana in San Marino, and Port O'Call in Pasadena.  I still loved fashion but became distracted by love, music, the 70's, marriage and children.  in the 80's I got involved in designing and making a line of children's wear, and eventually opened a children's clothing and gift store in S. Pasadena called the Sugar Bear Shop.  By the end of the decade, and a divorce later, I had left the "rag industry" for greener pastures.
I never lost my fascination for fabrics, color and design.  Every August, I anxiously awaited the Fall Fashion issues of all the Fashion Mags.  In 2007, I found myself at another career crossroad.  So I threw caution to the wind and decided to finally pursue the dream of my Senior Thesis by opening my own design studio here in Altadena.  It is LA General Store Design Studio -- 149 W. Altadena Drive.  It has been exciting and terrifying to do this -- especially in this economy!!  But -- I get to make beautiful things!  My motto is:  "If you can dream it, I can make it."  I can pretty much make anything that I see, and I haven't lost my passion and fascination for the fashion industry.

Fashion week kicked off in NYC on September 8th.  I know that many people don't know about it or pay attention to the fashion industry, or think about the impact that it has on their lives.  Every day we get up and put our clothes on. What we wear says a lot about what type of people we are.  The need to industrialize the processing of cotton and the manufacture of textiles started the industrial revolution in the USA.  If you don't give a thought to what you put on in the morning, down to the design of your underwear and the weave of your socks, trust me, someone somewhere definitely has!

Meryl Streep's character in "The Devil Wears Prada" says it exquisitely: "This... 'stuff'? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets?.... And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff."

Through the magic of technology, I have watched all of the major shows live online. How great is that.....no crowds, no traffic and a front row seat -- in my pj's no less! I'm sure that the excitement of being there accounts for something, but I know that someone like me would be "shuffled off to Buffalo" aka the seats behind the photographers!  This way, I get the best seat in the house to study the lines as they are being seen!

The 9/08 shows were: NICHOLAS K, BCBG MAX AZRIA, RICHARD CHAI and TADOSHI SOJI. These are my notes from those shows -- Bright, opaque leggings, wristlets with long fringe, color blocking, tulip skirt, crystal pleating, flowy, drop waists, ethereal, frothy. Colors: Fuchsia, taupe, greens (sea-foam, chartreuse), ecru, coral, turquoise, plum, orchid.  My favorites were BCBG and Tadoshi Shoji. I loved the opaque leggings featured by Nicholas K and worn layered under a skirt, tunic or shorts. I also loved his long fringed wristlets. BCBG featured great color blocking with an homage to N & S American Indian design. Richard Chai featured flowy floral pants worn under short pencil skirts and an interesting pant with apron look. I liked his menswear. Tadoshi Shoji featured lovely hand painted silks.
 
Day 2 of NY Fashion Week, featured: LUCA LUCA, REBECCA TAYLOR, NICOLE MILLER and CYNTHIA ROWLEY.  My notes are: LUCA LUCA -- bright colors, fuchsia lipstick, flowy silks, jewels on some designs. REBECCA TYALOR: way TOO SKINNY models with dirty hair. Colors: pastels, gunmetal blue, orchid, neon yellow, chartreuse. Stlyes:`drop waist 20's looks, iridescent hologram fabric, baggy, crochet, lace, floral prints.  NICOLE MILLER: Holy 80's Batman! Fun show with models all most smiling! Bright colors: Turquoise, neon yellow, magenta, royal blue Style: Checks, sequins, Bright bags, color blocking, geometric prints, loose tops with pencil skirts, lurex type threads in knits. CYNTHIA ROWLEY: Fluid, flowing styles. Colors: chartreuse, neon yellow, purple, off white, black floral, gold. Style: Geometric, color blocking, floaty, football jersey type mesh, florals.

My summary of the first two days is that bright bold colors will still be used in shades of coral, peach, pimento, hot pinks, magentas, oranges, neon yellow, chartruese and turquoise.  The muted colors used are seafoam green, plum and orchid. There is a lot of white, off white khaki green, tan and black.  Color blocking is HUGE.  Geometrics are popular, as are horizontal stripes.  Soft floaty florals appear often.  Cut work has appeared often as well as the homage to island motifs, and the 1920's.  A lot of skirt lengths are longer, to and below the knee.  Prim is in, with a very buttoned up look showing up frequently.  Sheer is popular and so is the light weight knit. 
 
If you want to watch the shows live online, go here.

My next blog will feature upcoming show reviews!