NYFW: Chromat Babes - Spring 2020

All hail the army of Chromat Babes that stormed the NYFW runway last night. This was by far the most inclusive cast of models I have EVER seen at a major fashion show. The incredible diversity and inclusiveness is a mission of this hot swimwear and bodywear brand, not a pandering gimmick that other designers have shown.
Instead of the token few people of color, or single model of non-stereotypical size, the Chromat show truly represented a range of ALL women, gender fluid fans and male allies. The models represented all the sizes the brand sell. The body types had super curvy, athletic, slim, top-heavy, bottom-heavy, short, tall, maternity, breast cancer survivors, mature fashion divas, babies, you name it.
The looks were very body-conscious, showcasing the body lines of every model with pride. There were some fun cage-like accessories made from covered boning. These pieces acted as dramatic framing for some looks as well as some outfits that lit up (see our YouTube video for Chromat).
The inclusiveness didn't stop at the casting. A significant announcement at the show was that the company was changing its business model. They would no longer sell wholesale, opting to sell directly to the customer as a way to make their pricing more accessible to more fans. Chromat only works with fair trade and ethically produced suppliers, so they couldn't compromise on their production price. That is a massive change for a brand and one that won't be easy.
This was another 9 PM show that completely energized the crowd, had guests dancing in their seats. The goodwill from guests, fans, designers, and producers kept the hype going all night. The finale included a performance by Rico Nasty. Rather than the creative head director or financial owner taking the bow at the end of the show, entire teams from different departments took a bow, showing inclusiveness starts at "home."
Bravo Chromat, for showing NYFW and the fashion industry at large it can be done!

All photos by Mariana Leung

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Golden Globes Red Carpet - Beyond Sample Size

Happy 2017 awards season! I am dishing on my favorite Golden Globes red carpet looks based on how well fashion designers accepted the challenge of fitting a celebrity outside of their comfort zone.

It is easy for a designer to knock out a gown in their sample runway size with no extra curves, made for a size 0 of a 5'8" body frame. Many (gorgeous) celebrities who don't fit this exact proportion have told their tale of rejection and frustration of designers who are unable to accommodate them.

Christian Siriano has been a vocal champion of celebrities outside of the typical sample size, coming to Leslie Jones' rescue and featuring varied body types as models at his last NYFW fashion show. Several actresses were dressed by him for this awards show, including Rachel Bloom in the embroidered black gown up top. Bloom's viral song from her show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was called "Heavy Boobs," a body type generally not well accommodated in red carpet fashion.

Octavia Spencer made a star out of under-the-radar designer Tadashi Shoji, choosing him to dress her when she was on an awards sweep for her performance in "The Help," choosing him specifically because he was one of the few designers at the time to work with all body types as a regular practice. This season, she chose a tailored suit by Laura Basci, leading the pack for one of the best trends of the 2017 Globes. A constructed suit is hard to pull off when your body has a lot of curves, she slew it.

Wonder Woman Gal Gadot was flaunted a baby bump in a slinky sequined gown from Thierry Mugler that highlighted her maternal curves perfectly. Gwendoline Christie's 6'3" frame (not including heels) make it a challenge for many designers but Vivienne Westwood's team created a beautiful, soft georgette gown that made her look like a classic Hollywood pinup.

Award winner Tracy Ellis Ross has a strong pear-shaped silhouette that was illustrated with stunning beading on a semi-sheer column from Zuhair Murad. While most designers love to dress a stick figure, many others appreciated the Murad-clad, 44-year-old Ross from every angle tonight.

First-time Globes nominee Chrissie Metz wore an elegant velvet dress with an intricately beaded waist cinch by Nathan Paul. If she didn't choose this gown, Christian Siriano had also made two others for her as alternatives. While the fashion industry needs to progress a lot further, I am glad to hear that multiple designers worked hard to give a first-time nominee so many choices.

Seeing how the fortunes of a fashion label can turn by dressing the right celebrity, I hope the diverse silhouettes of the Golden Globes Red Carpet are a start of what is to come. A designer who can excel at dressing beyond sample size is in-demand and in vogue.

Photos by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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#2016bestnine The Year of Ms. Fabulous

At the end of the year, Instagram once again offers to show your #2016bestnine based on what their engines have determined to be your most engaged and liked photographs. I looked at them and tried to see if they reflected the year of Ms. Fabulous in any real sense, whether an algorithm could actually figure out what we actually liked or where we traveled. Surprisingly, that answer was yes.

Like #2015bestnine, it is evident I personally still love the color red. It dominated five out of the nine images like the year before. I am a bit surprised that four of these images features me as the main subject and I am flattered, as these pictures are chosen based on your likes. As they are me (in a bathing suit!) and one photo featuring famous full figure model Sabina Karlsson I would like to think that coincides with 2016's shift in the acceptance and celebration of diverse body shapes. A record number of mainstream designers featured real people on their runways for Spring 2017.

I was truly grateful to have the opportunity to travel to several of my dream destinations this year. I visited Thailand, Paris for my 10th wedding anniversary and to shoot Guo Pei's Haute Couture show, London Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week in addition to my home base here in NYC. All of those locations were reflected in the collection of nine.

As a photographer, my favorite runway shots feature the movement of the fabric. The fact that three of the top nine are images with flying fabric in motion on the models tells me that you guys like that too.

Another year goes by and for many, a rough one (judging by the trend in memes). While I was bummed out on a few things that happened in 2016, this group of my #2016bestnine showed me that there were plenty of fabulous moments to appreciate. Here's to slaying 2017 my friends!.

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5 NYFW Designers Who Cast Real People for Spring 2017

In recent years, NY Fashion Week runways have slowly begun to become more diverse. But, while some designers are featuring a mix of ethnicities, it is still rare that catwalks will include a range of ages. Even fewer are showcasing models in different shapes or sizes. However, Spring 2017 runways revealed the beginning of a shift in attitude. Several designers made a point to feature models with realistic bodies that actually reflect their customers.

Byron Lars recent hosted a conversation on body diversity with top influencers in full figured fashion, His NYFW presentation featured both Fall 2016 (ready to buy) and Spring 2017 styles. He showed his collection from sizes 0 to 22. He spent months collaborating with patternmakers, technical designers, plus sized fit models and fans to ensure ALL of his fans could enjoy his impeccable fit and construction.

Images from stylishcurves.com

Project Runway champion Christian Siriano made headlines this past summer when he came to the rescue of Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones. The SNL cast member lamented that she could not find a designer to dress her atypical (by Hollywood standards) figure. Siriano stepped in and styled her for the movie premiere. He continued his message of celebrating all sizes by including models of different shapes in his Spring 2017 runway. Project Runway mentor Tim Gunn has also been on a mission to take the fashion industry to task for not acknowledging the reality of their customer base.

photo by Catwalking/Getty

J. Crew cast their Spring 2017 with their own employees. Who would best represent their collection than the people who worked on it all year? The showcased a wide sampling of people who work for the company, even including bios at the show of each person. It was a wonderful way to pay tribute to the faces, experience and diverse bodies behind the brand.

images from nymag.com

The Chromat runway showed pear-shaped models, muscular Olympic medalists, top-heavy, hourglass figures. The functional and high-fashion collection demonstrated that all body types could look fantastic enjoying fitness. The swimwear dominant collection had pieces that were on-trend with graphic athleisure looks. Designer Becca McCharen-Tran wanted customers to be equally comfortable at the gym and the club. 

image from metro.us

Did you love Archie's comics as a kid? I did, but always thought the depiction of Betty and Veronica's fights over a boy were problematic. The real heroines of those comics were paid tribute to in Rachel Antonoff's Spring 2017 collection. Models of varied sizes modeled whimsical looks inspired both the characters styles and featuring artwork featuring the iconic ladies. 

So does seeing models who reflect real people make you more likely to buy from NYFW designers? As a shopper, I am more confident in buying something with less guess work on how it will look on me if I see the garment on someone that looks like me. Is casting real people a trend? Or a tiny step in how fashion week needs to modernize itself?

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#NYFW: Byron Lars Inclusive Sizing Runway

The best trend out of Spring 2017 so far, Byron Lars flaunted most prominently. Several fashion designers have shown models beyond the typical "runway model" shape and proportion to reflect the diversity of their customer better. Lars referred to his new season, both ready-to-buy fall 2016 and spring 2017 as "inclusive" sizing.

His fans demanded his beautiful work to fit a larger range of customers. He took it to heart and researched what the plus sized market was doing wrong that so much full-figured were frustrated. I am happy to say I worked on this collection with Byron. From experience, I knew that most brands that even bother to produce clothing are larger sizes are simply sizing up. Lars spent months casting full-figured models, working with fashion fans, patternmakers and clothing construction to offer customers of ALL sizes the same impeccable fit and finish he is known for.

To be honest, some of the beautifully gathered and shaped dresses looked better on models of larger sizes and curves than models of the smaller size range. That shows what good design can do for a figure. Others flattered the athletic runner's body, as was demonstrated by Olympic medalist Kristi Castlin.

The clothes themselves, his famous sheath dresses are the standout. If you take the time to look closely at each dress, you will find an amazing amount of detail. There might be laser cut chiffon layered on top of print or mesh. There could be jewels, wood or metal embroidery around the neck. Brocade could be pieces with lace in body framing seams. You could be wrapped in impossibly twisted vegan suede so soft you want to sleep in it.

The front row wasn't so much about celebrities as it was a reunion of longtime fashion colleagues. I loved seeing legendary icon Fern Mallis, designer Tracy Reese, and Byron Lars getting silly after hugging it out on the red carpet. 

Congratulations Byron Lars on both Fall 2016 (grab it before it sells out) and the Spring 2017 collection. Inclusive sizing in fashion is what we all need.

All photos by Mariana Leung

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Byron Lars Spring 2016

Designer Byron Lars took a different approach for his spring 2016 fashion presentation. Instead an impersonal runway show, he opted for a very intimate gathering with select bloggers to share his collection. 

Proving his clothes look great on ALL women, his small squad of models included women of different sizes, ethnicities, and ages. The fans who were wearing his work in attendance also represented the above.

Media figure Teri Agins and author of Hijacking the Runway hosted a conversation with Byron Lars to discuss his inspiration behind spring 2016. This season it was a mix of textures that included power mesh, laser cut fringe, lace, ultra suede and brocade. Silhouettes had its roots in classic Haute Couture like Dior's New Look. Unique details included stamped brass insects and birds. Agins pointed out the interior details of Byron Lars pieces that most people don't see, like horsehair lining the hems to create a flared shape, built up collars or surprise linings that are removable. Those details are often my favorite part of his clothing. I swear some of Byron Lars dresses practically stand up on their own.

3D printed details, laser-cut fringe

I helped work on the introduction of his newest details. These were space age inspired silicone appliques (I think he wished I hadn't after the first few rounds). They were a labor of love that ranged from 3D rendering, printing, molds and many other steps. In the end, the result looked fantastic.

There were cheers when he announced he was launching the plus size division of his label. Full figured model Liris Crosse modeled a stunning white sheath with lace and sequin embroidery. She explained that she loved the dress because of all the internal structure to support her curves. She appreciated the design because it was very rare to see dresses for the plus sized fashion range created with so many details and thought (we all know the shapeless tunics other brands produce). Lars had always wanted to extend his size range (it currently goes to size 12) to serve more of his fans. He admitted he took it to heart when he put out a social media post as a fan of Jill Scott and someone responded that if he was a fan, why wouldn't he make clothes that would fit someone like her?

He is committing himself to really perfecting the fit and consulting with women in the size range to put out something worthy of the full figured customer. Byron Lars understands that you can't just size up a smaller size to serve the curves, so he will be developing his pieces specifically for this size range, fit with plus sized models.

If you are looking for truly special fashion pieces for spring 2016 you can collect, I can't think of better work than that of designer Byron Lars. 

Photos by Mariana Leung

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