N.Y. Fashion Week: At Alexander Wang, urban warriors in the age of technology

NEW YORK -- I had high hopes for the Duggal Greenhouse at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the venue to which Alexander Wang dragged the fashion crowd for his fall 2014 show on Saturday night. A greenhouse on the water seemed to suggest glass windows, a glittering skyline -- something cool.

But no, it was a black box. A black box that took an hour to get to, complete with snarled traffic and tested tempers.

But Wang is his generation’s Marc Jacobs, and he wields enough power to make us all cross rivers. I’m sure he thought any inconvenience would be forgotten by the time his finale rolled around, when a group of models stood center stage, in all-black pieces that magically turned vivid colors, demonstrating thermal color-changing technology.

It was a neat trick all right, and would have been just as neat at his old venue in Manhattan. But enough complaining. This was supposed to be a collection about new frontiers.

The look: Urban warriors in the age of technology.

Key pieces: Sculpted shift dresses and coats that brought to mind ‘60s-era Courreges, with multiple cargo pockets for the techno gadgets of today. Cable sweaters with pops of neon color. Leather sweat pants. Backless boots, which you might call mule-boots. Handbags with multiple pouches attached for gadgets and water bottles.

The verdict: More designers should be thinking about the future, and how to incorporate new technology into their collections. (It will be interesting to see if the color-changing garments are available at retail, or if it was just for show.) But it’s ironic that for an collection that was supposed to be about the future, everyone got very much caught up in the problems of today. If only Wang’s transportation suggestions were as futuristic as his vision. Teleporter, perhaps?

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