NEW YORK FASHION WEEK- Joanna Mastroianni

All photos courtesy of New York magazine-www.nymag.com

Joanna Mastroianni's Fall 2008 Collection was described in her show pamphlet as an "inferred experience" inspired by Morocco, and her beautifully studded and beaded pieces definitely evoked feelings of Moroccan style, but the suprisingly dark color palette, mainly black accented by rich jewel tones of emerald, ruby and sapphire, was far removed from the brilliant hues of lapis lazuli, marigold and saffron, associated with that part of the world. The show did include some wonderful highlights such as a gold studded poncho and a delicately ruffled crimson evening dress, and although stunning the weight of the poncho could be seen in the model's considerably slowed gait. Overall, the collection was quite elegant and sophisticated, but some pieces like the somber and unflattering floor-length forest green gown felt too old for Mastroianni's mostly young clientele. It seemed as though in trying to avoid the appearance of having simply created Morrocan knock-offs, Mastroianni did not take full advantage of the opportunity to give her own perspective on a country rife with rich textiles, design and inspiration.

You can watch highlights from the show below:

New York Magazine Video Look Book- FASHION WEEK

New York Magazine Look Book

Bergdorf's window on 57th street celebrates the release of New York Magazine's "New York Look Book: Gallery of Street Fashion" It contains just a few of the hundreds of photos taken of the stylish and stylishly outrageous New Yorkers during the past 3 years. The magazine has become well-known for its weekly feature of ecclecticly-clad city folk and has included shots of celebrities such as Parker Posey, John Waters and Helen Mirren.
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Parker Posey, photo from Nymag.com

For a great book of street fashion photos from around the world, check out Nylon's "Street: The 'Nylon' Book of Global Style"

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

The Sartorialist: High-end street fashion blogger

Fashion from the street Part 1

My latest obsession is street fashion blogs. These blogs are true social equalizers; it used to be that only those with the right bank balance or cool job were able to travel regularly and see fashion trends developing abroad, now the global and local trends that are emerging in major fashion capitals like London, Paris and Berlin can be viewed by anyone with access to a PC and an internet connection. This has major implications for young designers who can find online a limitless database of inspiration and trend information that is updated on a daily basis. It is also great how these blogs highlight individual style and people dressing outside the norm.
How influential are these blogs? Recently an exhibition of photos from some of the most popular street fashion blogs was held in Berlin and during the month of October the Colette store in Paris will host the largest exhibition of street fashion photographs to date. Still don't believe these blogs exert any influence? Scott Schuman of "The Sartorialist" received a shout out from Time Magazine naming his street fashion blog one of the "Top 100 Design Influencers." That's enough street cred for me.

Here are my favorites and some great shots

Stil in Berlin www.stilinberlin.blogspot.com



Style Clicker (Munich) http://www.styleclicker.net/



Dans Paris http://dans-paris.blogspot.com/

Malandrino all a flutter for Spring 2008

So every once in awhile a fashion miracle happens: maybe it's finding a pair of perfectly good Jimmy Choos at the bottom of a 50% off pile or getting a job with a clothing allowance, but for me it was New York Fashion Week Spring 08 shows when all those years of interning finally paid off. For this one day the clouds parted and some fashion goddess, or probably just a poorly trained intern, blessed lowly fashion assistant me with a front row seat at the Catherine Malandrino show.

Never mind that I was seated amongst editors from Vogue and WWD or that Tim Gunn and Veronica Webb were chit-chatting across from me, the real highlight of the whole experience was when Janet Jackson and Mary J. Blige casually strolled past and and sat down a few seats away (gasp!). But forget about the audience, it was the runway show I came to see!


After about a half hour of waiting, the show finally began and models adorned with ruffles, side-swept chignons and clunky platform shoes Malandrino's modern French look, which is both sexy and polished, was accented with the African influence that is often found in her work: tribal-patterned belts, beaded shoes The trends such as high-waists and knee-length skirts were there, but the collection was still very much her own personal style

all photos courtesy of style.com

More Parisian Chic for Fall/Winter 2007

Although I'm a big fan of the Paul & Joe line, I have to say the Fall/Winter 2007 pieces from its younger counterpart collection, Paul & Joe Sister, offer all the must-have Fall pieces from a modern little black dress to over-sized sweater dresses and cropped pants with suspenders. How to top of this tres chic look? With a darling beret of course... although I'm more enamored with those faux knot booties. I'm searching furiously for them everywhere!