New York Fashion Week Spring 2018 Archives -

I’ve become enamored with fashion quotes and adore this one….it says it all, don’t you agree!

We have come to the end of New York Fashion Weeks and are now on to London, which I will review on Monday. London has become quite cutting edge (but remember London has given us Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Vivianne Westwood, not to mention Mary Quant, Ossie Clark and, of course, the Father of Haute Couture Charles Frederick Worth and one of the first women Couturiers, Lucile Duff Gordon…..and the list goes one….so it really has been cutting edge forever!

Let’s look at three more of the stalwart New York designers…Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs (he always closes the week) and Marchesa.

Michael Kors finale….a bit too tropical for my taste but great color and silhouette. I like to suggest you add print to your already established wardrobe, the prints change so much season to season.

I do like print combinations and am very pleased that we aren’t seeing mix-matched patterns and colors for Spring 2018…I much prefer mixing the same tones…here we see a palm print with one of my trends….stripes. Note the shoes, we will discuss a bit later in this post.

So very Kors….the casual look of the shirt with ombré sequin pants and in blue, another color we have seen on many runways.

I believe this is first time we have seen a grey garment in the Spring 2018 collections, it is a stunner and combined with luggage tan. perfection. Note the grey wood planks for the runway…new, fresh, clean and a bit beachy!

Had to feature a LBD, this one I’m mad for….of course, I would need the top longer or the waist of the skirt higher, probably will ship that way. Flip flops with sequins…why but then again why not. I’m not a fan of them but they make an interesting statement here! Kors was another of the many designers who used diverse sizes in his presentation.

All three of the designers I am featuring today have fragrances, actually each has more than one to keep their brand available to those who can’t afford the ready-to-wear. I chose these from Kors because I think they represent the Spring 2018 line perfectly, Sport, Sexy, Glam!

Marc Jacobs has always pushed the buttons from his days at Perry Ellis (that is when I worked with him) to Paris Couture…he is still doing that. Here three examples of his interpretation for Spring 2018…bold neon colors, splashy dotted prints, oversize coats, jackets and dresses and fascinating accessories. Love the gloves and creative shoes.

Color combinations and layering. Head wraps throughout the collection.

More color, I haven’t featured much pink in my reviews, but pink, in all shades, it most certainly a trend. One bag is good, two even better. I do like the full pant, perhaps pulled in a bit!

A stunner, I would have either put the sash lower or cinch the waist, but then I’m not Marc Jacobs. I’ve shown you Chrome yellow in all my reviews and like it paired with black, brown or navy….I think a thong shoe here….

Just a few from Marc’s fragrance collection….many, many more!

The finale and the end of week two of New York Fashion Spring 2018….don’t go away I’m going to show you a few pieces from Marchesa along with a special event invitation.

The Marchesa fragrance. The name Marchesa honors the eccentric Marchesa Casati, if you haven’t read the biography on her, Infinite Variety, please do so, her life was beyond belief, a super read!

Glamour personified!

Adore the floral bodice, the skirt not so much.

Beautiful and in a magnificent green crepe combined with petal pink…the entire gown looks like a flower…stunning.

We have seen black and white in most collections, always refreshing in any season.

If I get to choose…this would be the gown, perhaps a bit less décolleté, absolutely adore it!

And now for the exciting invitation. The Costume Council of the Chicago History Museum is hosting a private event with Georgiana Chapman and Keren Craig the Cofounders of Marchesa. If you are interested in attending please contact ijohnson@chicagohistory.org.

Mad for this quote….how true….fashion is everywhere and fashion weeks are popping up all over the world. We still look at the four, what we consider, at least at the moment, major markets….New York, London, Milan, and Paris. New York began last week and we end in Paris early October. From what I have seen thus far we are in for a very exciting Spring 2018 season. What I will be reviewing, probably a couple of times a week, will be the trends that I see happening along with a few of my favorite designers. Take note that my seeing news and excitement doesn’t necessarily say I “like the garments” I am reporting the excitement of the upcoming season. And, please, oh please, let’s not discuss age or body image, if you like a look it can be adjusted to your time in life and your figure!

Let’s look at some of my finds….

How convenient that Zac Posen presented his Spring 2018 collection at the same time his documentary, House of Z, is available. If you missed my review please check my archives, I posted it on Friday, September 8th. Zac chose not to do a formal show, actually a show at all, instead he has produced a look book filled with amazing styles. I have chosen a couple to highlight here. You can see the amazing embroidery, the incredible detail (the first is an ode to his inspiration designer, Charles James). The entire collection is timeless and seasonless. The last piece, a remarkable ball gown is, in my opinion, a masterwork!

Jason Wu’s youthful but ageless collection featured stripes which showed up in several collections….let’s keep our eyes open for that as a trend. I am so excited to share the news that the Jason Wu fragrance is exclusive at Saks Fifth Avenue and I was given a bottle to add to the Nena Ivon Archives at Columbia College Chicago. The bottle is based on his iconic handbag…see image below of both the bag and the fragrance….that is my fragrance and it’s box in my photo. Not only sleek stunning packaging and bottle but a delicious scent!

From the sublime to the whimsical….an around the world fashion adventure with the creativity of Desigual. Reminds me a bit of the Kenzo of years ago. Lots of color, pattern and ethnic touches. A case in point, that Fashion doesn’t need to be classic all the time!

Speaking of whimsey….there is always Jeremy Scott who is celebrating 20 years in fashion, his collection is always tongue in cheek and this one continues that tradition with a new twist on his old favorites. He is the darling of Katy Perry, Madonna, Riannah and other celebrities.

Watch for very bright almost neon colors in many of the collections. Love the Doc Martens with this look.

Will denim always be with us….yes, yes and yes, in one form or another. Before you go crazy, you don’t have to do a mini skirt the look can be adapted.

Philipp Plein began his show with a performance by Dita Von Teese, the stage had “strippers” gyrating throughout the presentation….interesting to say the least. He showed both women’s and men’s garments some including leather as details. These two pictures are showing two of the trends in the early collections, pastels, and denim.

At the same time this show was going on Alexander Wang was doing not one but two shows with his models on as party bus they first appeared on a street in Manhatten then in Brooklyn, the shows were all over the place.

Does she look famiiar….it is Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s daughter…she opened the show. Her first catwalk was in Raf Simons Calvin Klein show.

No need to introduce this young lady to you. A fabulous little black dress.

A big surprise for me was the Calvin Klein collection by Raf Simons….the two photos below are very against what we think of as the Brand….but I feel very refreshing and very new….lots and lots of color and interesting silhouettes. Love the color combinations of the gloves, shoes, and bags….thoughts of how to update your established wardrobe.

Tom Ford back in the game as the sexy designer guru….a dynamite collection. Before you come after me….lose the shorts and look at the sensational hot pink power jacket and the color combination…perfection!

Two of his evening pieces with beaded sleeves one in neon yellow and the other in pastel dusty pink…the way to look at any special black tie event.

And, of course, the color he is known for, black, this, to me, is the essence of the little black dress. One of my favorite looks so far.

Victoria Beckham just gets better each season (when I worked with her she couldn’t have been more professional nor delightful, a total joy!) A bright red statement.

Shades of lilac but with depth in the color.

Great layering and color combining.

And another LBD, fabulous with lilac pumps. By the way, she has gone back into the jean scene. Her first foray was when I worked with her.

The king of the special occasion dress and one of the first designers to use all size models in his shows, Christian Siarino….can we all remember him and his “fierce” attitude on Project Runway….he is an extraordinarily talented young man and I adore his high-end garments always shown with his Payless shoe collection. Really the way women dress, combining high and low and old and new….Continuing my theory of stripes as a trend.