New York Fashion Week spring-summer 2013: Creatures of the Wind
NEW YORK -- The collection: Creatures of the Wind by Chicago-based designers Shane Gabier and Chris Peters, who were runners-up for the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s 2012 Swarovski Award for Womenswear and also had a capsule collection at J. Crew this year.
The inspiration: The 1960s -- crinolines, hair nets and all. “It was more of a technical investigation than a conceptual exercise,” Gabier said, explaining that the construction of ‘60s-era couture garments was the real starting point.
The look: Sweet but subversive, Stepford wives on acid. Full crinoline skirts with giant crystal details; cigarette pants, button-down shirts and double-layer jackets with boxy cuts and zipper details. A peppy palette of candy pink, sky blue, daffodil yellow and AstroTurf green, mixed with gingham checks, vintage dead stock jacquards and butterfly embroideries made for a madcap mix of textures, patterns and colors.
The scene: The “In crowd”-- retailers from Neiman Marcus, editors from Vogue, InStyle and Paper magazines and reps from Target. Could a collaboration with the big-box retailer be next? Designer contemporaries Marcus Wainwright and David Neville (of Rag & Bone) and L.A.-based Juan Carlos Obando were also there lending support.
The verdict: Feminine and fun, transporting but wearable. Just wacky enough.
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