New fashions inspired by bygone eras

There’s a bit of a vintage vibe at New York Fashion Week

There’s a bit of a vintage vibe at New York Fashion Week, with many designers mining bygone eras as inspiration for their new fall collections. The outfits are distinctly feminine although there are many menswear touches. The brown, moss and gray backdrop is made richer with plum, berry and blue.

Things that Suze Yalof Schwartz, Glamour’s fashion editor at large, was keeping an eye out for on Tuesday included tulle overlays over printed fabrics and oversized embellishments. "I call them rocks. They’re heavy, chunky and very cool looking," she said.
Previews for stylists, editors and retail buyers continue through Friday, with heavy hitters Michael Kors, Vera Wang, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren still to weigh in. Tommy Hilfiger also returns to the schedule on Friday after taking a several-seasons hiatus.
_Bill Blass: Designers "borrow" ideas from each other all the time, but few of them acknowledge it. Michael Vollbracht, though, is an honest guy and he credited creations by the late Bill Blass, Roy Halston and Norman Norell as the foundations of his new collection.

He explained why in a note provided to the audience: "Mr. Norell — because I fell in love with his sequined mermaids years and years ago when I was a very young designer. Halston … because his simple philosophy looks so good in this era of over-designing. And of course Blass — because it is my job to knock him off."
But after three years as the creative force at Blass, Vollbracht also showed he is confident enough to tweak the look of those he admired, keeping the overall look modern, something he’d been criticized for not doing a few seasons ago.
A short and sassy blue jersey swing dress and a cozy white cashmere one could be worn by a 20-year-old or a 50-year-old, especially with the dark opaque tights that have been all over runways. Coats also had a light touch, though surely a forest-green mink coat, with the texture of corduroy, would keep its wearer warm.

The Blass label increasingly is a red-carpet player, too, and there were several choices for Hollywood types. The more daring star might go for a gown with a black leather bodice and floating black chiffon bottom, while a black sequin halter gown with a mermaid hem, one of those Norell touches, would be a safer choice. A fluid champagne-colored silk jersey gown with a plunging V front and back, with pearls embroidered at the waistband, would be the best choice.

_Marc Jacobs: This is what the fashion crowd was waiting for: A definitive sign that the shape of fashion will be different next season.
More than any other American designer, Marc Jacobs is the bellwether, and he treated his beyond-capacity crowd Monday night to long, lean clothes that were devoid of gimmicks but still had sparkle, thanks to several sequined pieces. Models, including Shalom Harlow making a rare appearance on the runway, wore 1920s-inspired hats to complement pleated shirtdresses that went below the knee and menswear-style vests and narrow-leg — though not "skinny" — pants. There was more than one jumpsuit, and while jumpsuits normally either look dated or are incredibly difficult to pull off, Jacobs’ navy one covered with subtle embroidered bows actually worked.

(The jury is still out on the decision to put stirrups on the bottoms of most pants.)
Eveningwear was either tailored tuxedos, or dropped-waist or draped dresses; a teal strapless velvet gown with an oversized bow at the bustline was his finale piece.
Jacobs did tap into some already-emerging trends, including using teal and berry against an overall palette of gray, navy, beige and winter white, as well as mixing textures, almost ensuring that those looks will take off.
Among his fans cheering at the end were Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Harry Connick Jr., Russell Simmons and Lenny Kravitz.

Max Azria: This is the more upscale line from husband-wife team Max and Lubov Azria, who previewed their BCBG earlier in Fashion Week. Some of the themes were the same here — patchwork and pleats, and using green and mauve as accents with grays and browns — but just a little more polished.
A few dresses had intricately pleated sleeves, and the knit ones had interesting patterns and colorblocks woven in the wool. Other dresses — and there were a lot of not-quite-fancy dresses for Azria’s starlet following — had high necks and cowl backs, which seems to be a favored look of the season.
Azria, who had John Legend and Kelly Rowland in his front row, made an interesting music choice: Models walked down the runway to lyrics that said, "Big girls are beautiful."

Jovovich Hawk: Designers Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk took over a section of the already vintage-inspired Gramercy Park Hotel and turned it into a treasure trove of grandma’s best clothes — from when she was still a single lass. Until now, Jovovich-Hawk’ s claim to fame has been Jovovich’s celebrity as a model. This collection, though, could elevate the brand thanks to a series of sweet-sexy outfits. The best ones included a slim black skirt suit with patent leather accents, worn with hot-pink stilettos; a black viscose dress with rosettes and rose-color trim; and a navy halter dress with peach contrast that looked as if it should be worn by a woman selling cigarettes at a speak-easy. Thakoon: Do black and blue go together or do they clash? It’s an age-old fashion question, but Thakoon Panichgul thinks he has the answer: Put black embellishment on cobalt blue or vice versa. He did it on a satin "sweatshirt’ dress, assembling beads in a floral pattern; and he paired a black feather-seamed coat, decorated with a bit of lace, and a cobalt satin cocktail dress that had stripes of black paillettes. He made a convincing case for the unconventional color combination. Nanette Lepore: If you’re going to wear Keds with cocktail dresses, you’ve got to have the right attitude, and the models in Nanette Lepore’s show Monday certainly did. They bounced around in short dresses, purple tights and gold or velvet sneakers. (Lepore collaborates with Keds.) Even the more grown-up clothes, which were then paired with peep-toe pumps from Lepore’s own, higher-end shoe collection, had a light and playful touch — a sweater dress was adorned with sequins and a tan-and-blue print chiffon dress was worn over soft velvet pants. http://www.mbfashio nweek.com

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL, AP Fashion Writer

http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20070206/ ap_on_en_ ot/new_york_ fashion_week

About Editor-in-Chief, Madeline Jones

Always an activist and looking to bring plus size women into a fashion forward mentality, in 2006 she combined forces with friend and online magazine publisher, Valery Amador, to create PLUS Model Magazine, where they could respond to plus women's demand for fashionable clothing displayed prominently on appropriately sized models. Since then, Ms. Jones has quickly become the, 'Anna Wintour' of the plus size industry where she is frequently called upon for her expertise and insight; Appearances and interviews include ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, Entertainment Tonight, Coco Perez, Fox News, HuffingtonPost.com and 200+ other media sources.