In many ways I admire American fashion critics. I do because they seem to be able to support their own industry with grand words even when such words are used to describe average ready-to-wear designs that rarely have anything fresh or exciting about them.
Italians are very different: we tend to demolish most of what we produce, it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad. This is essentially why young and talented designers often end up making a name for themselves in another country before being “accepted” in Italy and eventually hailed as fashion heroes.
Things seem to be very different in America, though, and this is essentially the reason why, while there wasn’t anything extremely striking during the first two days of New York Fashion Week, just by reading the feedback on some publications and sites you get the impression that, if you weren’t there, you’ve just missed the second coming of Christian Dior.
The attention of the world was turned in the last few days on the 9th anniversary of 9/11, on Pastor Terry Jones threatening to burn copies of the Koran and the debate about building the mosque near Ground Zero, but the major preoccupation around Lincoln Center must have been finding the right words to describe in original ways a series of more or less average fashion designs.
You would think that after the umpteenth “fluid” dress, repetition fatigue would have caused enough stress to journalists and critics and they would have found difficult to look for exciting words to turn something average into something unique and unseen before.
Yet some of them keep on displaying more skills than linguists: neutral colours are described as a careful research for clear lines, purity and minimalism; jersey garments piled up one on the other become a versatile trick and not a tiring layering exercise; sheer and matte garments juxtaposed in the same design, like we saw in the 90s, are metaphors for a harder-edged yet sensual look while, rather than displaying a lack of knowledge in fabric choice, opting for just a couple of types of fabrics means sublime unpretentiousness.
They say Caliban became enraged at the sight of his own face in the mirror and dealt with the problem by smashing the mirror. Some critics seem to deal with the matter in a similar way, but, rather than smashing the mirror, they just hide what they wouldn't like to see under a thick layer of rhetorical excess.
If you are a fashion connoisseur, if you know the technicalities behind a garment, the most disappointing aspect of New York Fashion Week is definitely the lack of an in-depth knowledge of tailoring techniques, disguised in fluid dresses and garments in which annoying ruffles and strange appendages are added here and there, pretending they create interesting asymmetrical motifs.
Most of the labels showcasing their new collections in the first two days of New York Fashion Week, seem to produce fashion for the Project Runway fan, the Twitter maniac and the Generation Gaga, that is something trendy and fast that doesn’t last long and is aimed at uneducated customers who have lost the ability to recognise a carefully designed pair of trousers or a well-designed shoulder line.
Christian Siriano is the emblematic example of what is going on in fashion at the moment: he is a young designer currently hailed as extremely talented who should be given the chance of growing up and mature before actually launching his own collections.
This is why I find it difficult to justify the existence of many fashion brands: it’s hard to spot the difference between the designs they produce. Still I admire the way some critics enthuse about some collections, spotting sculptural miracles in a fold and finding beauty in blandness.
Sure, there were interesting moments here and there during the first catwalk shows: a romantic mood was in the air at Jen Kao’s thanks to the designer’s cashmere crocheted dresses and embroidered pieces matched with feet wraps that created a sort of fake bobbin lace/macrame effect that gave the impression the models wore Roman coturni.
Peter Som focused instead on arty inspirations including Peggy Guggenheim and op art, though at times they got out of control, resulting in extremely bright aqua tops with appliquéd orange tweed patches.
Also Jason Wu moved from art, mentioning Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes among his influences. Milhazes's "Popeye" paintings were clear references in some of the appliqued motifs on tops and skirts, and, while the evening dresses decorated with petals of fabric looked pretty – though definitely not new design-wise – Wu should have maybe toned down a bit his use of sheer fabrics.
Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs displayed a little bit more variety compared to their previous collections.
Opting for strong Amazon-like women, they mixed leather dresses and pleated kilts with cotton or sheer tops and also came up with floral dresses with prints of headless statues.
Aggressiveness was enhanced by Alejandro Ingelmo’s spiked high heels, though they should have cut back on shorts.
Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock at Vena Cava focused on casual elegance achieving it via halter neck dresses and tops, but you wonder why they had to include in the collection also rather unflattering and unnecessary dungarees.
The most puzzling trend seen so far at New York Fashion Week remains what could only be described as the "bondage parachutist look".
This annoying trend set to arrive in a high street shop near you pretty soon (after a few fashion bloggers will start raving about it obviously…) consists in a series of useless harnesses, straps and such likes hanging from a garment or crisscrossing it in a rather annoying way.
The best example of this look was seen on Rag & Bone's runway where straps and zips crisscrossed trousers and harnessed bras, that will look rather unflattering on all women who are not models, were matched with tailored jackets.
Overrated Alexander Wang wasn't immune to the trend and, while the main theme of his collection was supposed to be building sites – and that was clear in carpenter's jackets, splashes of paint, scribbled prints and gold bands mimicking duct tape – the thin fabrics employed for the rather unconvincing loose and relaxed dresses called to mind parachutes and so did the straps that crisscrossed the back of dresses and jumpsuits.
In a minor way also Gary Graham was caught in the parachutist trend, though in his case the designs revolved around a palette of olive green and light beige with splashes of vivid red here and there.
In some cases the overall effect was that of a Holly Hobbie doll living in a post-apocalypse era who, after surviving a nuclear attack, starts making her dresses out of parachutes, resulting in several bits and pieces of fabrics hanging here and there from a dress, jacket or a pair of trousers.
There will probably be further interesting examples of bondage parachutists during New York Fashion Week, but, hopefully, there will also be collections worth of the excitingly grand words that some critics have been using to describe what we saw so far on the NY runways.
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