Alice in Fashionland – The New York Fashion Week

Guest Blog

Alice in Fashionland – The New York Fashion Week

It’s that time of the year when New York turns into a Fashion Wonderland  with the New York Fashion Week, and we had our own Alice in Fashionland, fashion correspondent Christine Philip who was at the shows and filed this report for Lassi with Lavina.

Naeem Khan

From Runway to Red Carpet, and also making a little girl’s dream come true

Mumbai born, Indian American designer Naeem Khan’s new collection was impressive and inspired by the beautiful New York City skyline. Comprised of geometrical and architectural art deco, he told me what inspired his collection , “It was inspired by New York in the 30’s and 40’s”.

What I love about Khan’s collections is that he is known for his red carpet and couture dresses compared to the other designers showing at fashion week. He told me, “I can do this with my eyes closed”. I was utterly in heaven with these glamazon large-hair- beauties strutting the runway with gold embellishments, sequins, metallics, and embroidery in art deco patterns.  He has dressed celebs at the Golden Globes and Grammys for 2016 and told me backstage that he would love to show in Paris Haute Couture Week in the near  future.

He’s dressed some of the most powerful women in the world including First Lady Michelle Obama and countless celebrities. I  found him to be humble and inspiring.  As he pointed out, he had been in the country for 30 years but it took  him well over 20 years to arrive where he is today, due to sheer persistence and hard work. He supported the Make a Wish Foundation at his show by granting a young cancer patient  her dream of walking down the runway. As he said, “I come from a country where it’s common to give back.”

Bibhu Mohapatra

Another Indian American Fashion Designer who brought in East Asian Influences for his Fall 2016 Show is Bibhu Mohapatra.  His inspiration was Empress Dowager Cixi, an figure in Chinese history who was once a concubine and ended up ruling the country. A costume designer as well, he kept it modern by emphasizing slim kimono-style silhouettes comprised of plenty of red, and gold dragon fly embellishments with a hint of fur. Encompassing more than one theme of the evening, he was able to pull off a vibrant collection in which the layering and color blocking were on pointe.

Marchesa

Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have always been influenced by India and Indian fragments in their collections from the time of their inception in 2004. Their Fall show collections showed beautiful bejeweled royal gowns adorned with Indian jewelry with a touch of edge and lots of drama. Opulence was also a theme of the fall lineup, ostrich feathers, ombre tulle, ruffled trains, and crowns and tiaras. “We were influenced by the paintings of John Singer as he celebrates a feminine and very powerful woman”. A favorite at  the Oscars, it will be exciting to see who will be choosing Marchesa on the red carpet.

Dennis Basso

A veteran of glamorous fur collections, his fall collection wasn’t short of using colorful patterns and Indo-western brocade, embellishments, and embroidery. This fall he entered into a new collaboration with Michael Kors, in offering a “see now, buy now” business model, in which the gowns are for sale right off the runway. Given that he has a 40,000 square foot atelier in Long Island City, this wouldn’t be a problem for the discerning fashionista who wants it right away.

This collection was romantic, sexy, and sultry with his silk Charmeuse and lace slip dresses underneath a leopard fur, for example. He’s wanting to attract the younger clientele in his collections by designing strong yet glamorous silhouettes with his signature fur look draped over the millennial shoulders.