High Fashion Hits the Tony Awards Red Carpet 2015

Did anyone else think last night's TONY Awards red carpet looked like an extension of the CFDA Awards? That was not a coincidence. In the past, the awards ceremony celebrating live theater was barely watched by television fans. Unlike the Academy Awards, it was not the destination for celebrity fashion inspiration.

Legendary costume designer for Broadway, William Ivey Long (hell, even my Hubby knows his work) reached out to Anna Wintour for help with all of the above. Together with Vogue staff and the team at PR company KCD Worldwide, they made sure to give the stars lots of styling and designer help for the evening.

Like your typical Anna Wintour fest, many fashion designers attended with a celebrity as their date. Bernadette Peters arrived with Zac Posen; Joseph Altuzarra escorted Vanessa Axente, and Francisco Costa had Kendall Jenner on his arm representing Calvin Klein.

Some of my favorites on the red carpet were slightly biased because I am a big fan of performer's talent and performances first. Just off of Mad Men and nominated for The Heidi Chronicles, Elisabeth Moss wore a flower embroidered Oscar de la Renta column dress. Vanessa Hudgens, who starred in Gigi on Broadway, wore a beautiful floral print gown by Naeem Khan.

Kelli O'Hara, whom I loved way back in her Jekyll & Hyde days was the big winner last night for Best Actress in a Musial. She also wore a gold Oscar de la Renta dress. Jennifer Lopez wore Valentino, Canadian singer Kiesza wore a stunning if unconventional dress from Aluzarra. One of my favorite actresses on Broadway (Wicked) and tv (Pushing Daisies) Kristen Chenoweth hosted the Awards in a slinky silver, Zac Posen.

Congratulations to all of the talent, both dramatic and sartorial this week. Bravo for making the Great White Way the great red way with amped up TONY Awards red carpet fashion.
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

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Truly Zac Posen Bridal 2016

Here come the brides! NY Bridal week is taking over Gotham just as the city starts to bloom. Zac Posen unveiled his latest collection in collaboration with David's Bridal Wednesday under the Truly Zac Posen label. 

Many luxury designers have partnered with more mainstream retailers for a smaller, more affordable bridal collection. I found that many of the cheaper versions of a designer's brand were exactly that, cheaper. They don't look like the designer's work; they don't reflect the aesthetic and not surprisingly, they don't look like luxury.

With Truly Zac Posen, the price tag for the most elaborate gown tops out at $1850. That might not be cheap by sportswear standards, but still affordable in wedding gown standards. There were similar florals, color palettes and silhouettes to his recent collections. However, the fabric quality, while similar in texture, was noticeably not the same (then again, his top tier collections can be 10X the prices here.)  There were beautiful ballgowns that swished extravagantly though slightly deflated from the biggest skirts of his main runway. The David's Bridal budget can afford less petticoats.. 

A good designer knows how to achieve expensive looks no matter what the budget. There were still embellishments like bonded lace appliques, feathers and pearl beads. Lace pricing can vary wildly as can pearls. The trick is to choose wisely and with a great eye.

As a New Yorker, we love lean towards a darker palette. We don't necessarily need to be all dressed in white. Many modern brides are happy to wear a gorgeous black or brightly colored gown down the aisle.

If you are a contemporary bride with a modest budget and lofty dreams, Truly Zac Posen might be your the fashion Godfather to grant your wish.
photos by John Acquino via WWD

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Met Gala 2014 - Red Carpet Trends

The Met Gala (or Prom for the fashion set) had a glorious red carpet procession last night.  The invitation's dress code was  “White Tie and Decorations.”  The marquee exhibit for the Metropolitan Museum's ball was Charles James, Beyond Fashion.  I guess Anna Wintour wanted guests to dress in classic glamour for the 2014 Met Ball.

The best looks came from guests paying tribute to Charles James in ball gowns echoing his silhouettes. Sarah Jessica Parker wore a black and white dress that was reminiscent of the black and white clover gown in the exhibit.  Sarah Silverman wore dark red Zac Posen similar to the scarlet creation in the museum.  Karolina Kurkova wore a sculptured work via Marchesa.  Anna Wintour's daughter Bee Schaffer wore a pale blue Alexander McQueen gown that paid tribute to the red and tulle gown by Charles James.

The irony of this event? In high school, the unpopular girls went to prom with their gay best friends.  For the Met Gala, the A-list celebrity girls attend "fashion prom" with their gay designer BFF's.  Yes, for this social event, it is much more likely to see top fashion designers bring their most popular celebrity muse as their date in lieu of their mates.  It's mutually beneficial as the designer secures the celebrity and the celebrity has designer cred.  I would love to see a designer give their date a jeweled corsage.

Worse trends?  Celebrities obviously paid to schill a mass market/high street clothing brand for press (I'm looking at you Topshop and Jenner family...) The other are celebrities dressing up as Disney princesses.  This is an unpopular opinion, at least where my niece is concerned.  She thinks this look is fabulous.  Last (AND least) the grotesque, wannabe streaker in pink mankini and Jersey Shore-worthy gold chain who tried to crash.  I am not even dignifying this clown with a photo.

Photos by Josh Haner/The New York Times, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Kevin Mazur/WireImage

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Zac Posen and Naomi Campbell - NY FASHION WEEK

How gorgeous are these gowns? Zac Posen's Spring 2013 fashion show for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was a stunner on all fronts.  It brought supermodels Naomi Campbell and Alek Wek back to the runway. Other star models included Coco Rochas and Erin O'Connor.

The opening saw Naomi Campbell stroll down the terrace of Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall in a demure, floral printed ensemble.  The pretty romantic florals soon gave way to immaculate full length gowns. Amazing pleated details were manipulated into luxury fabrics like silk organza, satin, taffeta.  Alek Wek sauntered down the runway in a dark fishtail gown with blooms as accents and delicate folds of fabric.  Coco Rochas breezed by in a voluminous, bride-worthy gown.  Jewelry was glittering and full of elegance.

Half the cast of America's Next Top Model were on hand to admire the show as well as top bloggers The Man Repeller and BryanBoy who huddled together and traded accessories.  Madonna's fashion mogul in training Lourdes Ciccone was in the audience as well as tough glamour girl Gina Gershon.

Unfortunately, the show did not go off without a hitch...Naomi was late to arrive (I could overhear all of the communication from my spot in the media riser).  The PR company was at odds with Lincoln Center management, and were forced to remove a number of seats at the last minute due to fire codes.  (The poor pregnant producer was yelled at by Lincoln center management right at the start of the show). A foreign French representative of publisher Jalou, Marie-José Susskind-Jalou and her tag-along daughter Jennifer Eymere were therefore some of the guests left without seats. While the overworked Lynn Tesoro, one of the top PR mavens of NYC was trying to multi-task, the mother (or daughter) lost patience and assaulted her.   

Now, anyone who has ever attended Fashion Week has experienced the inexperienced, snotty PR assistant who was driven power-mad by her clipboard, and sometimes you want to slap them...But, there is a BIG difference from imagining something in your head to grown adults actually acting on a violent impulse.  I cannot imagine an experienced person like Lynn Tesoro was anything but professional, if possibly a little weary.  I saw first-hand the difficulty with the seats at this show, and it was a situation beyond their control.

Most guests, even A-list celebrities I observed, have always been gracious during NY Fashion week when things don't go according to plan.  For these French publishers and tag-alongs who are adults to use  slap someone because they personally feel entitled to something is classless.  What's worse, they were proud of it and bragged to the press about their behavior.

I hope a judge informs them once and for all that entitlement and savagery are will never be in style.

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Ten Ways to Green Your Closet

Earth Day is coming up on Sunday.  It started in 1970 during a time of anti-war sentiment and concerns about the environment.  Sad to say, those concerns are just as prominent today as they were back then.

Historically, the environment hasn’t been a priority among the fashion set.  The luxury industry is forever linked to conspicuous consumption.   That said, designers today are becoming more eco-conscious.  Zac Posen, Lauren Bush, Derek Lam and Behnaz Sarafpour among others gathered in Manhattan to support Clean By Design, an initiative with the Council of Fashion Designers of America with Vogue Magazine that aims to reduce the negative impact fashion has on the environment.  The initiative wants to educate fashion designers. 

The current state of pollution was a major inspiration in the designs at Qinghai Design School’s graduating class for Shanghai Fashion Week.  Outfits included turtlenecks that converted into facial protection and color coordinated face masks.

So what can YOU do to green your own wardrobe?

1)  Be a locavore.  Buying food from local sources has gained momentum in recent years.  Apply the same principles to clothes.  Support designers like Nanette Lepore who manufacture domestically, which provides employment to the local economy or designers from your home town.  Items that don’t need to be shipped via boat or plane obviously have a smaller carbon footprint.

2    2) Buy vintage.  Tailoring, construction and design details rocked in decades past.  Television shows like Mad Men have made wardrobes the real star.  Buy the real thing from great vintage shops or find a bargain at reputable thrift stores like Salvation Army.  Believe or not, they are a stylist’s secret weapon and actually partner with a lot of high fashion sources to manage their chic offerings.

3   3)    Recycle to upcycle. If you find that great vintage or thrift find, perfect.  If not, get creative and transform a castoff into something fabulous.  Need ideas? Great sites like Threadbanger  have a lot of DIY instructions.  Not crafty? Seek out designers who do it for you.  BabySteinberg out of Canada transforms garbage into couture creations.  Designer  Christopher Raeburn  updates older pieces for the modern hipster.

   

     4) Style swap.  Broke?  Clothing swaps around the country are a hit.  Find your fashion soulmate and trade your favorites for new favorites.  Find some in your hometown with swap groups on Meetup.com.

5      5)     Eco-friendly fabrics. Clothing made from green materials aren't the granola, harsh fabrics of the early days.  Bamboo knits come in amazing color palettes and are super soft.  Hemp silk bridal gowns have a luxurious look and texture.  Warm fleece made from discarded water bottles help reduce a bit of the landfills.  Lyocell, tencel and other new plant-based fabrics are gaining popularity.  Technology is constantly bringing new materials to the industry as well.  Learn more about these at Ecouterre.com.  

5   6) Planet-friendly accessories.  There are a huge range of accessories that can be made from eco-friendly materials that might not work in clothing.  Nahui Ollin’s bags made from candy wrappers have been seen on the arms of hipsters, television stars and fashion icons.  Vegetable tagua is a great alternative to make beads.  Craft fairs are full of jewelry made from everything from soda can tabs, vintage book covers to scarves felted from old clothing.  The handbag design competitionawards top prizes to Best Green Handbag and Best Socially Responsible Handbags, proving that style with a conscious can also be super-chic. 

  

     7) Pass on packaging.  I know part of the thrill of the shopping experience is the tissue paper, glossy bag and pretty box.  Truthfully, the pleasure of that only lasts a few seconds.  Packaging costs a lot of money to produce and has been factored in to the cost of your item.  Taking your goods home in your fabulous handbag is more glamorous and creates a lot less garbage.

     8)     Multi-task your items.  Put your stylist skills to use.  Find items that can be worn in different ways…Imagine a dress that can be worn as a top, cardigan, tunic and skirt, then folds into a bag.  Look for convertible garments that are designed to be worn different ways so you have several styles to choose from.  We like the 5 in 1 dress from Thieves Boutique. This also makes packing for a trip a breeze!

9   9) Buy better, not more.  Invest in better pieces.  Having a ton of cheap, crappy clothes doesn't impress anyone.  What’s more, cheaply made mass market duds are more likely to be made at factories with less standards for the environment, worker safety and quality.  

1. 10)   Support good companies.  Research and buy goods from companies that you know to have good practices.  Eileen Fisher  produces a pretty Eco collection with their own employees as models.  At their headquarters, they practice every day polices like a central garbage disposal for the floor that encourages employees to produce less waste if they have to travel to get rid of it.

Happy Earth Day!

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Textile Design: Digital Printing vs. Old School

The fashion crowd has traditionally been criticized for their slow embrace of technology. Old masters deplore the loss of hand-drawn sketches, couture sewing techniques and artisan craftsmanship in today's mass market world.
Where does textile design fit into this debate? The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article on high end designers who have incorporated the use of digital fabric printing into their collections. Zac Posen and Helmut Lang were able to translate photographic images into dresses. Recent technology has allowed for sharper, crisper images that were not possible in the years before.
Theia designer Don O'Neill took advantage of the speed of this tool by combining the new and the old. He translated an original piece of art into a custom digital print fabric in time to be worn by Carrie Underwood for an awards night.
Does this technology take away from those who still illustrate patterns by hand and use silk screening as a couture art form? Not according to Catherine Malandrino, who vows to continue employing artists specifically for this purpose.

In my own experience of design, there is no technology that replaces hand appliques and embroidery as a technique.
The most recent season of Project Runway, designers worked with Vivienne Tam to create a digitally printed fabric. This is also the show where the talent is asked to create each outfit by hand and employ Haute Couture skills for the runway. It's about making finding new mediums to express creativity.
What is your favorite medium for design? Does digital open up new possibilities? Need to explore it more? Craftzine has a great guide to break it down.

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Zac Posen for Target 24 Hour Launch Party

Now for the latest high fashion designer to do the 'Low' dance with Target...Zac Posen is launching his collection for the big red bullseye with a 24 hour pop-up shop Thursday near Penn Station in NYC.

Sneak peeks at the lookbook for this 80's inspired, prom-friendly line have been a very hot Google search for the fashionista set.

You can shop all night while dancing to DJs and live bands.

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