LA-Story.com is pleased to bring you some of the lesser known shows of New York Fashion Week. Going for some big shows and also bringing to light new designers is what LA-Story.com is all about. It’s all about showing off what’s new and different that makes the fashion weeks so interesting.
We join Nancy Lichtenstein for her first foray into Bryant Park!!
After a pleasant afternoon at Signette, we headed to Bryant Park to the Big Tent for Academy of Art University’s Runway Show. AAU is an art school in San Francisco which uses Fashion Week as a recruiting opportunity, and anyone who shows a serious interest in attending (in person or through their online program) can get tickets. We figured that meant that interest in the show was low, so we showed up at 6:30, only to find a line going out the door and down the steps into the street. There were people standing behind the barriers who’d been there all day trying to get a glimpse of some famous faces, and they were rewarded with the sight of Carmen Electra and Nigel Barker.
The lobby of the tent is set up like a small trade show, with booths promoting the sponsors, including DHL, Judith Ripka, Lycra and Moet et Chandon. It is yawn-inducing, and surprisingly un-stylish.
However, once we got inside the excitement mounted. The inside is all black, and Gina and I got a childish thrill out of walking down the runway before the show started. Due to our late arrival we were assigned to standing room only, but we claimed a couple of empty seats next to Gilbert, a Sephora makeup artist from L.A. who will be working backstage at the Ashleigh Verrier show tomorrow. According to Gilbert, makeup for spring will be light and fresh, with pops of bright color like fuschia and lime green. When asked if lips will be matte or glossy, he answered, “Definitely glossy!”
I doubt the AAU show is truly representative of Spring 2008. If it were, then the beginning of this show would lead me to believe that voluminous clown costumes in yellow and black, cobalt blue, and off-white linen, as designed by aliens doing an homage to the worst of the 80’s (as Gina said, “More Cyndi Lauper than Madonna”) will be very in.
The show improved as it went along, however, and the best-received collections were menswear by Kenneth Ning and knitwear by MinSun Lee. Ning paired shiny pleather pants with more conservative jackets, and Lee accessorized her pleated skirts and girlish sweaters with motorcycle helmets in matching patterns.
Sunday: Ashleigh Verrier
By Nancy Lichtenstein
