PRE-FALL 2009 - BEST OF THE SEASON

Narciso Rodriguez - his is the best pant of the season - slim yet easy, long & lean!

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Moschino Cheap & Chic - Consistently one of the BEST collections around - always feminine, modern with a touch of irony.

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Doo.Ri - Stunning look.

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Carolina Herrera - great look, just lose the shoes.
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Calvin Klein - Francisco Costa makes amazing silhouettes. I would love to see the little dress with a dark leg and a flat shoe or a flat over the knee boot.
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Burberry Prosum - I love this luxe wild child Brit look.

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Best of Show #1 - Donna Karan

Donna's newest collection is as brilliant as her recent Resort collection (feminine, pink, fuschia gorgeousness). What ties the 2 together is their faithfulness to her singular roots. She is at her best when she references herself, not other designers. She infuses the clothes with structured softness and drapes, sleekness, modernity, ease and sensuality (smart sexy!) What I love here most are the long, languid, lean silhouettes that move around the body - they always have a structured anchor - the shoulder, the waist or a girl's great legs.

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Best of Show #2 - Alexander Wang

Alexander Wang continues his winning streak of cool, modern, easy collections. What is so amazing about what he does is that the looks are amazing on the runway and the models could just walk right off of the runway and onto the street and they would look equally as fierce. You can clearly see an early 90's influence here (child, these young kids are referencing the 90's already!!!!!). There are clear references to Alaia, Helmut Lang and even Tom Ford when he was ripping up the fashion world with his early work at Gucci. My favorite is the smashing coral, assymetric draped day dress (dress of the season!!!) worn with sleek patent loafers - super cool, super modern and just plain super.

GIRL ON THE EDGE

I will preface this by saying that, yes, dammit, I LOVES me some Bey!!! But when it comes to style, I try to be completely unbiased.

Baby Bey, as I like to call her, has been pushing the fashion envelope recently. Gone are the days of the old hat Elie Saab and Versace flowing chiffon gowns with a highlight of some beaded schmutz thrown on somewhere. She has replaced this Miss Universe look with much edgier looks - Thierry Mugler, Alaia, Gareth Pugh, Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabanna. I particularly love this fashionable move forward. I think it is very reflective of our times as well. She is looking more singular, sleeker, more focused, more streamlined, hipper, much more modern and dare I say it, younger.

I love that this new step frees her from her seemingly self imposed role of Little Miss Perfect (as does her saucy performance as Etta James in Cadillac Records).

One very interesting tidbit of news is her newly announced collabo with Monsieur Theirry Mugler as Creative Advisor and wardrobe designer. He will be doing about 58 looks for her and directing 3 segments of her tour, as well as advising on choreography and lighting. Mugler, through many ups and downs, was a true genius. If you have ever seen a Mugler show, you know that this man thinks big, thinks dramatically and thinks out of the box. His own shows were always more about the drama of showmanship than they were about the clothes anyway. She has to be aware of not just being throwback or too draggish, but constantly taking his genius and bringing it forward so that it is ALWAYS modern, feminine and youthful.

Was this inspiration for her Bey's famed robo-glove?:

Yes, children, the 90's are back!!!

KRIZIA - OVERDRIVE

KRIZIA amazingly was created in 1950 by Mariuccia Mandelli. It had it's true moment from the 1970's through the early 90's . This ad campaign from the 80's is what KRIZIA was all about - ethnic influence, knits, shape, mad mixes of texture and a little dash of whimsy. I am living for the silhouettes and the spirit - it's all very Genghis Khan, Mongol warrior meets Star Trek meets grandma's knits meets court jester.