marc by marc jacobs

Little Red Riding Vogue: Review of New York Fashion Week

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Now that things from 2014’s New York Fashion Week have settled down a bit, it’s time to analyze and review! Although I love the classics like Chanel and Dior, I have to say, I always get especially excited to see shows from more alternative fashion houses.

One of my favorites will always be Kate Spade. Part of that may stem from the fact that her pieces are often somewhat affordable—especially if you hit up an outlet. This year she continued with her usual style of color blocking, stripes, and florals. In my opinion, she nailed it. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! She showed off some great dresses and bags that I can’t wait to see in the stores.

Another fantastic collection came from Zimmermann who charmed with ruffled gowns and gleaming blouses. Zimmermann chose to play with many textures and colors, and it definitely gets your attention. With dreamy periwinkle and creamsicle tones, this collection has me absolutely swooning. Any one of their pieces could make me feel like a princess in a Disney movie.

Now if you’re looking to be a specific princess—namely Jasmine—you should check out the collection from The Blonds. As usual, The Blonds dominated with a specific theme in mind. This time, they showed off gorgeous sequined and beaded outfits, often with beautiful billowy bottoms that couldn’t help but remind me of Jasmine in Disney’s Aladdin. All told, it was iconic as always.

Anna Sui, a regular at this point, knew what she was doing and rocked fashion week with a collection boasting dozens of unique patterns and cuts. Each outfit was uniquely edgy and charming with tones ranging from scarlet to indigo. She even threw in a few metallics to rival Zimmermann.

One thing I always love to see at fashion week is collaboration. In Jeremy Scott’s case, it was none other than Miley Cyrus. To be specific, Cyrus created a series of collaged sculptures to exhibit at Scott’s show. And she couldn’t have picked a better partner. Scott is well-known for his colorful, “out-there” style which he reiterated this year.

One of the best shows this year had to be Betsey Johnson who went above and beyond as usual. This time, her show’s theme was marriage equality. The show’s openers were models styled as same-sex couples. Many of the models throughout the show were also drag-queens—each one sashaying down the runway in one of Johnson’s crush-worthy, over-the-top ball gowns. She relied, as always, on girly tones and cuts, rocking the femininity of each queen.

If you missed my piece on the new designers at Marc by Marc Jacobs, check it out because that’s all I have to say about the new MBMJ previewed at fashion week. It’s flawless, shocking, and so Luella. With bright colors, color blocking, polka-dots, and bold text, Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley have stolen my heart once again.

Finally, there’s Altuzarra who is now featuring pieces at Target. Who doesn’t love high fashion at affordable prices? None of what was shown at fashion week is on the racks at Target (simply because this is their 2015 Ready to Wear, and also because these are not pieces they designed for Target), but nonetheless, it was darling and daring, shifting from baby pinks and blues to black and gold.

Overall it was a fantastic fashion week that has me drooling and dreaming about all the amazing pieces the designers of the world are creating.

Little Red Riding Vogue: Luella Bartley makes her comeback at NYFW’s Marc by Marc Jacobs fall ’14

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What do you get when you add together Luella Bartley, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and “Alice in Wonderland”? Me—crying.

For those of you who like ridiculously adorable dresses with a lot of spunk and character, I really hope you are familiar with Luella Bartley and her eponymous line Luella. If you’re not, you should definitely become acquainted! Unfortunately, Bartley called it quits for Luella in 2009—to the shock and horror of many rock and roll girly girls like Chloe Sevigny, Alexa Chung, Kate Nash, and Lily Allen. But when one door closes, another one opens. Recently word came out that Bartley would be taking over as design director of Marc by Marc Jacobs—the cute and affordable younger sister of Marc Jacobs.

For those who still aren’t sure what the difference is between Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs, Marc by Marc Jacobs is a different line from the same fashion house. It’s a little more punk and aimed towards a younger crowd—which also means the prices are a little more wallet-friendly. Also the fashion on the whole is less couture and more retail—which made it a perfect fit for Bartley’s extremely desirable young adult dresses.

On Tuesday, the Marc by Marc Jacobs fall ’14 runway show aired on Livestream for the viewing pleasures of fashion freaks such as myself. And I must say, the new creative director of Marc by Marc Jacobs, Katie Hillier, knocked it out of the park. The video allowed for live tweeting during the roughly nine-minute-long show and showed an array of front row guests such as Grace Coddington and J. Alexander. Marc Jacobs himself was present of course—with gal pals Chung and Sofia Coppola.

The show began with swelling music from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”—the models walking on a wooden platform that curved with swirling arches and zigzagged through the audience. Many of the early looks centered on shades of black and red and all of the models had their hair in two tight braids. About two minutes in, the music shifted towards tribal drumming as more colors found their way into the show. Then things got weird with some electronic music that involved an eerie computer voice reading lines from “Alice in Wonderland”.

The music was spot on though. The line obviously drew inspiration from “Alice in Wonderland” and was strongly reminiscent of the video for “Oblivion” by Grimes. There was a unique mix of grungy BMX-ninja girls with loud colors and phrases displayed on their mismatched outfits, and balanced gray outfits with more serious tones and enormous bows. The models generally walked in an assortment of what can only be described as combat and ninja boots or platform sneakers. Some of the outfits featured phrases like “Bunny Hop”, “Revolution”, and “Grrl”. Obviously, Bartley has not lost her inner punk girl.

Masters of accessories, Hillier and Bartley didn’t skimp on extra details. Some models sported bandanas that covered their mouths with images of a skeleton’s teeth. Others toted plaid or striped leather handbags. Headgear was generally limited to Alice-inspired headbands.

At the end of course, Hillier and Bartley greeted the audience in incredible ensembles, laughing and talking as they entered—clearly pleased with the amazing show. Like Chung said after the show, it was inspiring and impressive. In fact, Chung and Bartley both admitted to getting teary-eyed as well. There is so much obvious potential here and I cannot wait to see what else will come from this fabulous duo.

Check out Luella Bartley’s previous work here!

Watch the show here!