Last week was marked by champagne binges, gorgeous models, celebrities, socialites, and, most importantly, tantalizing new fashions, which could only mean one thing: New York Fashion Week.
An annual rite in the fashion world, designers like Ralph Lauren, Luca Luca, Donna Karan, Vera Wang and more debuted their fall 2005 collections in America's fashion hub, New York City.
Though spring has yet to rear its head, the realm of fashion stays true to its always-ahead-of-the-curve prerogative, providing clotheshorses a glimpse at fall's trends and stylish creations.
While 2004's fashion week inundated viewers with a deluge of ladylike pant suits and glitzy garments, with designers from Marc Jacobs to Versace rendering their versions of the classic-chic look, the 2005 shows steered clear from this played-out style.
In fact, Lazaro Hernandez from design team and ??ber-trendy label Proenza Schouler expressed his sentiments to The New York Times about last year's obsession with the "ladies who lunch" look, threatening, "If I see one more pencil skirt ... "
Fellow designers seem to agree -- collections for the fall were heavy on grandiose patterns, making for a line of clothing both reminiscent of styles from old-world royal kingdoms and modern-mod-meets-futuristic-fantasy.
Oscar De La Renta, Carlos Miele, Douglas Hannant and Monique Lhuillier opted for the old-world look, creating skirts and gowns laden with gold brocade patterns, tulle and ultra-luxurious fabric designs. Much of these and similar designers' collections exuded Cinderella elegance, suggesting a return to the age of dignified courtship and horse-drawn carriages.
Another set of designers, however, showed a tendency for modernity and futuristic elegance, with Marc Jacobs, Alice Roi, and Proenza Schouler flooding the runways with bubble skirts, ruffles, boxy skirts and dresses, and mod-inspired boots.
In addition to ruffles and oversized, bulky skirts and jackets, one prevalent trend for fall shared by nearly all designers who debuted last week was a Russian-inspired theme.
Though designers often draw inspiration from various regions of the world, this new "Russian elegance" seems strikingly innovative, if not somewhat odd, as this land best known for caviar and communism often evokes austere images in the minds of Americans. Nonetheless, the deep reds, heavy fabrics, and luxurious patterns that characterize Russian-inspired clothing are perfect for the chilly fall months.
Fur also made its way back onto the runway for fall, asserting its sustainability in the realm of fashion, where favored materials of one season are often blacklisted the next. Designers from Michael Kors to Chaiken to Bill Blass sent countless models marching the runways with fox stoles and mink shrugs, paying homage to this age-old favored material.
While a number of trends characterized the fall collections, many felt 2005 Fashion Week to be void of any definitive characterization.
"The fall fashions seemed fairly directionless this year," commented Hopkins sophomore Leah Bourne, who sat front-row at Ralph Lauren, Peter Som and Chado Ralph Rucci. "Besides a Russian-inspired look, there weren't many overarching characteristics to the shows."
Similar sentiments were expressed by show attendee and trend reporter David Wolfe, who stated in The New York Times, "There is no fashion mainstream anymore. Instead of mainstream there are a thousand little brands all going at different speeds."
While this paradigm shift is new for the fashion world, as designers often piggyback off the looks of industry leaders, the change is far from discouraging, as more individualized, varied designs mean more choices for consumers.
And while it wouldn't be fashion week without a few tiffs and controversies -- Baby Phat overbooked its show, turning away hundreds of invited show-goers; Marc Jacobs began his show two hours late, sending Vogue editor Anna Wintour into a state of furry; and J-Lo made a belly flop onto the runway scene with her collection of tacky fashions -- New York's week of glamour and garments tickled the fashion set, whetting appetites for fall 2005.
