New York Fashion Week: North West steals the front row show at Alexander Wang
Forget Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj. North West stole the front row show at the Alexander Wang runway extravaganza Saturday night, wearing a custom-made baby version of what Wang was showing on the runway, a pint-sized black dress edged in silver studs.
It was the softer side of Wang’s heavy metal-meets-heavy armor vision for fall, that’s for sure. Because on the runway, it was all fierce androgyny, from the very first model, practically unrecognizable with wet, stringy hair, and none other than Kendall Jenner.
Wang held his show in a more intimate space than usual, putting more focus on the clothes, which were quite richly detailed. They ranged from the kind of gorgeous chunky fisherman knit sweaters, studded with silver beads, that could be a real woman must-have come fall, to sexy, see-through chain mail dresses that should appeal to Wang’s pop star contingent.
Wang worked the masculine side, showing easy tailored tuxedo jackets with velvet lapels and silver watch chain details, worn with short pants and urban hiking boots; boxy, quilted leather studded jackets; and louche, Hefner-esque velvet robes edged in silver beads. And he worked the feminine side with curve-hugging minidresses and swishy, longer black skirts dripping silver chains. It was a strong mix of wow and wearable.
Joseph Altuzarra played with the masculine-feminine theme in his collection, too, which was inspired by 18th century dandies and Truman Capote’s socialite swans. (How great is that?)
The result was a wonderful collision of foppish and foxy, including lush velvet or checked flannel tailored jackets and trousers, icy pastel flounced skirts (slit up to there), high neck blouses, and coats with frilly details, all worn with sexy, lace-up boots.
Altuzarra also showed his first handbags -- covetable hobos and saddle bags with braided tassel straps and fringe details -- another impressive leap forward for his ever-expanding brand universe.
Evening wear was a rich bohemian’s dream -- Tibetan embroidered sequin dresses in gold or deep red that cast an exotic spell, some with lace keyhole openings, other worn with tidy, shrunken velvet jackets on top.
It was a fine romance on a Valentine’s night.
