Day One of Fashion Week

The day started so sadly as the world began to hear about the tragic news of Alexander McQueen. I could write for days of the greatness McQueen has brought to the fashion industry, but will leave it at this...McQueen changed the fashion world and he will be well remembered for the many ways that he made an impact on the industry. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones, RIP Mr. McQueen. 

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The first show of the day was the menswear line, Duckie Brown. It was full of patterns, especially plaid, wool suits and military-esque hats. The military theme was very apparent throughout the collection. The button downs had cargo pockets mirroring each other, the cropped trousers showed off laced up combat boots and the jackets were very structured with high collars. The palette was mostly black and gray with pops of red either mixed in with the patterns or as a solid separate piece. The collection could be fun to play around with if you paired one of the structured pieces with something slouchy or slightly grungy. What are your thoughts on this collection?

After chatting with a few people in the tents I headed to Ports 1961. As the lights went down, the intercom came on and led the audience into a moment of silence honoring Alexander McQueen - it was a chilling moment and for the amount of people in the tent it was dead silent -- goosebumps is an understatement. The collection flowed beautifully in every element; the colors, the structures, the materials, even the shoes. There was a lot of draping which made it feel very feminine, but the structure of the jackets and overcoats screamed industrial, so if I had to explain the collection in two words those would be it. The collection was beautiful, unique and classic all wrapped up in one. 

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Then I made the trek over to TheXchange for Oumlil - Shades of a Man. I loved the jackets with the scallop detailing on the lapels and pockets, but was not a fan of the same detailing on the back of the shoulders -- for some reason they reminded me of batman. Thrown into the mix of cotton and wool was a bit of leather, and it really made the collection more young and fun. The slim silhouettes of the suits would transform any man who slips on one of Oumlil's wool ensembles. (Sorry, no images yet!)

I quickly went to the IDeeeN preview and was in and out in less time than it took to drink a glass of champagne. The collection was nice but after the great ones I've seen in the past two days it didn't stand out quite as much to me, so I headed back to the tents for Mik Cire by Eric Kim. I was blown away. Every single piece was exquisite and the collection was so unique, yet so wearable. It was the perfect mix of grunge and sophistication with tailored wool pants, hanging suspenders and army jackets, accessorized with pony hair duffel and messenger bags. When Kim walked out with his baby boy the already loud applause grew exponentially louder, but as he exited the audience quickly did the fashion shuffle out and was onto the next.