Wednesday 15 February 2012

NYFW | Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter 2012/13

 
 

Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter 2012/13


"Do you know how many shows there are this week?" Carolina Herrera asks. "Three hundred and fifty. That's why they have to be short and to the point." Right on as she may be, the inimitably elegant Herrera intends to pack a lot of drama into few minutes it will take to show her 40 looks on Monday. Her fall collection was inspired by the idea of an artist's studio, seen in the graphic brushstrokes that she's swept across organza, but in discussing it, the designer sound more like a maestro than a painter. "This", she says, hands swooping through the air as she points to a photo on the run of show board of a model dressed in red, breaking up the navy, blacks, and purples that came before her, "is the crescendo."

Enjoy Carolina Herrera Fall/Winter 2012/13 Fashion Show at the end of this post!

LoL, Andrea 













There are full skirts theatrically billowing from underneath cropped jackets and feathered sleeves shaking up a short lavender sweater. Its color is similar to that of a Ladurée macaron box tacked to Herrera's mood board, which also features clippings from interior magazines and phrases like "The art and the fashion" and "Variations on chic." A few of the prints on the dresses, like a black-and-white striped one accented with red, came straight from these collages. "This is the fun part," Herrera says, standing in her office and smiling, "when everything is being created."

The sheath dress is back. At Carolina Herrera, that's the news. You might think that they never went away chez Herrera, who has always been a champion of dresses that look elegant and refined and appropriate, but you'd be wrong. For the last few seasons, she's been experimenting with all sort of interesting volumes for skirts. Yet in the blink of an eye, in the way that these things can happen out of the blue, when the previously shunned gets a radical revise and is able to be seen  in a whole new light, the lean, long sheath is what Herrera reckons will work for fall. Hers came in a palette of deep navy, mulberry, indigo, lilac, and what she calls haute (as in hot) pink and are variously cut from tweed, grosgrain, double-face wool from tweed or jacquard silk. That's not to say that this is the sheath dress straight up and unadorned. One might have a trompe l'oeil effect, with a trop that sat over the dress itself, looking like two pieces when, in actual fact, they're one.

















Others had artisanal beading, or panels of organza that fluttered above the hips. Many were cinched at the waist with knotted and tied belts. In fact, all of these adjustments and adornments drew the attention to the waist, emphasizing the shapeliness of the look. She's not alone, it has to be said. All sorts of designers, including some of New York's newer guard, have been experimenting with a line that cuts close and thight to the body, and that leads straight to a dress that's fitted, sleeved, and finished somewhere below the knee. Could it also be leading to a revival of uptown bourgeois chic? It's tempting to say that, but what does that uptown/downtown division even mean these days? Not a whole lot. More accurately, Herrera is, in her way, responding to an emerging sense of strictness, keeping the silhouette under control, and for the taste of more "done" looks; there has barely been a runway that hasn't been busy adding a hat or a piece of statement jewelry or a touch of fur. And for all the rigor she brings to bear on her collection, it's never uptight. Those sheaths often came layered up with cozy, comfortable cardigans or coats that were as enveloping as a bathrobe.
























Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories

Photo Credit/Source: © VOGUE
Photography by © Marcio Madeira/firstView


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1 comment:

Shagun said...

A beautiful definition in elegant chic. The designs are sleek & classic, yet glamorous in a subtle way.I esp like shimmering, silver long dress, slim fit & modern.I enjoyed your review, dear Andrea. It's precise, & pictures are lovely!!!

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