The Setting
A well known night club. The scene: a dwindling after work crowd mingling, with the party weekend warriors. On Friday April 9, 2010, Roe hosted a fashion show for several local up and coming designers. Before the show, I headed backstage to view the designs, and designers up close. I spoke with some, while others seemed to be “finishing up” their looks. There was still a lot of work to be done, yet a tremendous amount of potential in this room.
Daniel of Ruby Couture
The first show was by Daniel of Ruby Couture. This designer focused mostly on evening wear. 75% of this show was comprised of dresses, and there was quite the variation on them: long, short, poufy, column, beaded, and printed. High school seniors everywhere looking for prom gowns would have had a field day with this show. The collection started off with a sleek black bridesmaid-esque gown, and morphed into a Baby Phat aspirant, then back to evening gowns. It was clear the designer did not systemize the look arrangement as one does as Bryant Park. While there were some obvious no-no’s, there was a lot of would-be promise in the imaginative designs. Several favorites included a Tinkerbelle-like purple, cocktail length number with its sweetheart neckline, and a gathered balloon skirt; a simple, tea length white handkerchief spring dress; and a fabulous caftan inspired two-piece. One thing they did not do wrong: the shoes- they were fierce. To end the show, the designed pulled a Gautier, and closed her show with a traditional Irish dance, as Coco Rocha did originally in 2007.
Hermajesty
The clothes were a little Snooki and J-woww meet “legging city”. That said the clothes are perfect for a relaxed day of hanging at the shore, cruising for boys and cheap dates. There were lots of bejeweled slogans “HerMagesty”, “Victorious”, just in case you forget who you’re wearing, or what you are. There were lots of hits and misses: cute leggings (yet uninspired), but un-cute onsies, great shoes, but the see through mesh top was an absolute fashion don’t- akin to walking the streets, rather than to the throne as the collection name suggests. I did see an adorable set of separates: white shorts, printed tube top, ideal for summer in the Hamptons. But the look was a departure from the rest of the collection. The line just wasn’t cohesive. I would have liked to see a lot more of the cute Hampton looks, and less of the Jersey Shore.
Tiffany Mayes Lingerie Collection
Next up we had a collection based strictly on boudoir basics. The models were bold and brazen in some barely there lacy numbers, stomping down the catwalk, proudly showcasing what their mama gave them. Frilly camisoles were accompanied by panties presented in matching pastel candy coated hues of pinks and purples. Overall the compilation was continuous, and charmingly attractive.
GG Connections
This collection was put on by prominent South bay designer Debbie Nghiem. As with many designers, there is always a lot of inspiration to pull from. Yet Nghiem looked like she pulled from all her muses: patterns, knots, sequins, rushing, and a whole lot of sparkle. Let just say there was a lot going on, although, there was a definite continuous sequence. I spotted a beautiful traditional Asian mock neck dress that I thought to be traditional, yet glamorous for present day. Other highlights included: a pretty white backless dress made of entirely hand crafted rosettes, a mad hatter inspired shirtdress, and a gorgeous one shoulder, pale pink top, paired with a flower printed asymmetrical mini.
One thing I would have liked to see different was the presentation of the looks. While they most certainly were inspired, they unfortunately, were not all steamed or ironed properly- and as most fashion people know, that makes a really big impact on your show, in a negative way if not done properly. Also the seams of several dresses were pretty poorly put together. Overall, the pieces were certainly playful, and enthused, I appreciate how Nghiem thought outside of the style box. The show was most definitely a success, and enjoyable to watch.
Vanessa Barbery
Barbery a Canadian by birthplace, but Bolivian by birthright, definitely brought a worldly aesthetic to the closing show of the night. As I mentioned before, I spoke to several designers, but spent a little extra time chatting up Barbery. Was it because the interviewer in me took this as an opportunity to get all my questions in, or perhaps it was that she seemed genuinely interested in talking to me about her travels, inspirations, and background? Either way I really liked her, and her collection.
The assortment of pieces in her presentation had only a few main color tones, but worked beautifully together, I noticed undertones of caramel, blue, green and coral. This was apparent in one of the opening numbers, a sleek, fitted, one shouldered, caramel jersey dress with an open back- that seemed like a lot of components for a dress, but it worked so well together. There were a ton of favorites, so I’m just going to mention them all. I really liked the juxtaposition of the racy, high waisted, pencil skirt paired with a not so lady-like leopard print bandeau. And a gorgeous maxi animal print dress, with a one shoulder turquoise strap caught my eye; it reminded me of Diane Von Furstenberg’s ubiquitous printed maxis. Then a beautiful, long, coral dress with a ruffled collar caught my attention with its fabulous color.
My absolute favorite dress from this collection was a leopard/rose printed mini with a single shoulder strap in a phenomenal tribal trim, a marvelous usage of mixing prints in my opinion. After that, I fell in love with yet another maxi- this time it was a zebra print, with coral satin trim. The only time I ever saw anything star worthy was in this show, and it was subsequently the following dress; a long, luxe, olive Oscar worthy gown, fit for a ‘best actress’ winner. Of course the closing piece had to be an interesting mix of trial and travel; you can’t be a great designer if you don’t take some risks. And this final piece was risky, although it first didn’t make sense to me, I finally saw the inspiration. Albeit a bit costume-y, Lagerfeld would snap up this look up faster than you could say Chanel Spring 2011.
Vanessa Barbery
