In Case You Missed It: Vionnet

Vionnet's Fall 2011 collection was a well rounded collection of sophisticated and sexy dresses that played with prints beautifully. This collection showed in during Paris fashion week and went a bit off the path of what most of the designers were doing in trends in Paris. Instead of sticking to a monotone or black color palette, Vionnet chose to play with rich colors, blocking them and playing up on the prints of the fabric. The prints in this collection where some of the more interesting ones I have seen. Vionnet allowed the prints and textures in the fabric to become part of the design, strategically putting the prints in certain directions to control the eye in different directions of the body. For the most part the fabric in this collection was very light and in some cases see through, this peek a boo fabric worked well with the overall feel of this sexy collection of clothing.There were some bits of lush furs and quilted prints that were interesting but no big standouts for me in this collection which doesn't matter anyway because as a whole Vionnet showed a beautifully thought out collection.

[Photo Source: Style.com/Vionnet]

In Case You Missed it: Bodkin

Designer Eviana Hartman's Bodkin collection is not just your typical fashion design collection in that she is dedicated to sustainability of material and production methods. According to her website:

 Manufactured in New York City using organic cotton and organic wool and artisanal vegetable dyes along with innovative fibers such as recycled-PET nylon, cellulosic fibers, and kapok, Bodkin consists of understatedly classic yet forward-thinking pieces that reconcile style with utility and transparency, supporting and encouraging both traditional craft and environmentally beneficial technologies of the future.

The Bodkin collection that showed in New Yorks fashion week was earthy but not obvious it came from sustainable materials. Her collection tapped a little bit in  gender bending fashion trend with tailored pants and a a structured jacket, but for the most part Hartman kept the collection free flowing and easy with some looks that draped so beautifully that it reminded me of Tokyo street style.  Eviana Hartman's collection shows you that just because a garment is sustainable doesn't mean that it can't be fashion forward.

[Photo Source: Amanda De Simone/GoRunway.com/Style.com]

In Case You Missed It: Julian Louie

Sometimes amazing up and coming designers and small established designers get overshadowed  when they show around the same time as one of the heavy hitter designers. Me being the girl that is always rooting for the underdog, I felt that it was important to do a review on some designers that maybe didn't get as much attention as they should have. There are so many to go though that I may not get to all of them but I hope I will able to introduce you (and me) to a designer that hasn't quite gotten their moment to shine yet. Who are are some of your favorite designers from the Fall 2011 collections that didn't necessarily get a lot of spotlight?



Julian Louie is sort of a new designer, debuting his own collection in 2009, but his work has had industry experience as far back as 2005. His work seems to be of very clean lines and blocked with color and a variety of fabrics. His Fall 2011 collection that showed during New York's fashion week follows the same formula. Julian's collection was smell  in size but didn't lack in visually interesting looks. I couldn't pin point an exact theme to this collection outside the use of geometric shapes and color blocking and maybe that was his intentions to not have a centralized theme. In a way that frees the designer creatively and in this case he produced a sporty, ultra modern yet feminine look. Here are a some looks from Julian Louie's collection:

[Photo Source: Julian Louie/Style.com]