DC Fashion Week: Corjor International at the National Archives

Were you aware of D.C. Fashion Week?  September has been flooded with the runway reports from New York, Paris, London and Milan that the designers from our nation’s capital are largely ignored.

I had the fortune of stopping by Washington D.C. and checking out the kickoff event at the National Archives where participating designers mingled over cocktails and enjoyed Corjor International’s runway show.

D.C. Fashion Week may not have a lot of well-known brands, but it represents emerging designers from all over the globe.  It also spotlights modest fashion that complies with religious standards of certain cultures, but can be seriously stylish, even if mainstream fashion media doesn’t cover it.

In the United States, there are not many venues more impressive than the grand rotunda housing the Constitution as a backdrop to the models.  Corjor International’s designer Ean Williams named his label with a combination of his children’s names.  His fashion show was a combination of all the different lines he works on, from bridal, to menswear to evening wear.  He also acts as the ambassador for D.C. Fashion Week by sending out information and communicating personally to press inquiries. 

Unfortunately, the dramatic venue was not built for fashion event photography.  The dome and polished stone room resulted in too much feedback from all audio announcements, so the press pit had no idea what was said during the presentation.  The theatrical lighting forced less experienced photographers to use their flash and ruin most of everyone else’s images.  I barely had anything usable to show you from what was otherwise a beautiful show.  Ean Williams clearly has a love of textured fabrics and is glamorous silhouettes. His menswear was offered tailoring in unusual palettes. 

If you are not too fatigued from the labels you know at the major fashion week offerings, take a chance to discover the ones you don’t know at D.C. Fashion Week.

Check out U.S. Cities You Didn't Know Had a Fashion Week
by Ms. Fabulous at Mode

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Exhibit: Lingerie Francaise

Do you love lacy underthings?  The French do.  They just debuted a pop-up exhibit in tribute to the history of their own lingerie at the Chelsea Market in New York City.  The Lingerie Francaise exhibit covers intimate apparel from the corset's heyday at the end of the 19th century through the movement towards more functional garments and using knit fabric in undergarments.

Bras became mainstream for women at the beginning of World War I.  In the 1920's, with straight bodied shifts and flappers in vogue, the girdle became a staple. In the 1930's, curvy, body conscious fashion was the style of the day and then supportive girdle belts and brads became indispensable.  Key brands in France included corsetiers Lisa Charmel, Simone Perele and Gaby, later Lejaby.

After World War II, the introduction of nylon revolutionized the industry with its durability, cost and ease of maintenance.  Fashions like the popularity of the mini-skirt and pants changed the way women dressed underneath once again.  You couldn't wear a girdle or garters with that, so stockings and brief style panties became de rigeur.   With the bra-burning feminist movement in the 1970's, lingerie manufacturers designed underwear that was light and comfortable enough to feel nude.  The 1980's brought lingerie to the exterior for fashion, so the styles had to be worthy.

The end of this exhibit is a showcase of the sponsoring lingerie brands most recent collections.  From those, I can interpret the trends of today are lots of embroidery and luxury.  So what pretty thinks are YOU wearing underneath?

The exhibits ends on August 6, 2013.  It is located at Chelsea Market at 75 Ninth Avenue in New  York City.

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