Flirty glamour at Kors, curves at Boss
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Fashion
Michael Kors offered up a flirty collection full of feathers, metallic accents and sharp tailoring Wednesday as Jason Wu unveiled a Hugo Boss collection emphasizing the curvaceous, feminine form.
The billionaire Kors, a household name in the United States due to his accessories beloved by many American women, kicked off the second to last day of New York Fashion Week in a light-filled Tribeca loft.
The star of his show was Kendall Jenner, reality queen Kim Kardashian's little sister, wearing glittery silver, with interlocking rings holding together her short sleeveless, metallic brocade dress. It was a cross-seasonal collection with select pieces offered for sale immediately as the industry starts to cater to customers fed up with waiting six months before catwalk creations hit stores.
Kors' vision was flirty and emphasized through movement, with feathers and streamers adorning skirts that moved as the model walked, and slashes and slits cut into hemlines bouncing up and down the leg. There was a mix of floaty blouses and dresses, and sharp tailoring. Skirts were cut above the knee, slightly shorter than those seen in other collections this season.
Interlocking chains as seen on Jenner's dress featured prominently. A chainmail dress gave off a glittery disco ball effect, as did a pant suit paired with a luxurious short, white fur coat. For colder climes, there were tweeds and plaids. There was lots of brown and beige, as well as baby blue, lime green and purple. There were rounded, oversized collars for fall, and heavy use of floral prints.
For accessories, which have done so much to propel his brand into the big leagues, he offered chain-handled envelope and studded camera bags. The 56-year-old, self-made businessman comes from Long Island and dropped out of New York's Fashion Institute of Technology in his first year. He launched his line in 1981.
He bounced back from bankruptcy in 1993, cut his teeth reviving the fortunes of French fashion house Celine and became a household name in 2004 as a judge on the reality television show "Project Runway."
Curves
Wu showcased his fifth season for German label Hugo Boss on the heels of his eponymous collection last Friday. The Canadian-Taiwanese designer said he had previously focused on straight architectural lines at Boss and for the fifth season wanted to emphasize a woman's curves in a more 1950s look.
"In my fifth season I wanted to free it up a little bit and make it more about the curves," Wu told reporters backstage. To emphasize the curvaceous and the feminine, he matched brilliantly contrasting fabrics of mesh, satin, felt and boucle and used a two-tone effect, cut asymmetrically and on the curve.
For example, there was a stunning double-faced cashmere coat with a perfectly cut cascade front. There were a lot of florals, including a velvet flower detail cut out by hand and re-embroidered onto wool boucle. Wu, who has been a favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama, told of his desire to make his clothes timeless.
"Fashion is so fast, I think it's really important to make clothes that'll last a long time and really have the idea of beauty," he said. His Boss dresses were made from hand-frayed strips of chiffon and rows of miniature bugle beads stitched to a mesh base, which were made to feel like relaxed sweater dresses.
Contrasting to the somber tones of black, beige, olive and white, were splashes of fuchsia, burgundy and forest green. Hem lines fell to a conservative mid-calf, and dresses and jackets zipped up at the front.
Flower power
Anna Sui, the designer known for fun, boho flower girl chic, rounded out the day with a typically fast-paced, energetic show buzzing with every color and texture under the sun. Unusually, models walked in pairs as well as individually as they paraded a technicolor palate in psychedelic floral print crepe, velvet pants and crushed fur coats. (AFP)