Consolation Prize

While I like going to Fashion Week, seeing the shows and experiencing the excitement of all the creativity in one place, it's very challenging for me as well. 

Even though fur usage declined, it is now back on the rise.  For some reason, people really think that fur is a good thing, although I'll never understand why?  All I see is vicious cruelty.  And I've been following along as many of the fashion pubs, brands and blogs jump onto Tumblr.  The bombardment of fur visuals from this week is hella depressing.

These images just make me sick.  Skinning an animal after keeping it in horrid conditions and then electrocuting it to death?  60 minks, 10-20 foxes or beavers, 30-50 raccoons, 6-10 seals, 110 squirrels or 130-200 chinchillas have to die for one fur coat! That's fashion!

I mean how can you look at this:

And not see that it was once this?  Yet so much lovelier and more wondrous:

I'm serious.  If you think wearing animal fur is okay, I don't want to know you. 

To cleanse my mind I had to go look for some cute shoes that are totally vegan and don't make me depressed as hell.

So, since I'm on a flats kick here are some sweet ballet flats from Beyond Skin and come in oodles of colors and are on sale!

I also popped by Cri de Coer because I'm loving cap-toe flats (in fact I'm wearing a cute faux patent tan and black pair from Gap right now).  Cri de Coer's are pricier but they are also on sale right now.

You can learn more about the horrors of the fur industry if you dare. 

Fur is easy to avoid, so let your favorite designers know that they should ignore the bribes of the fur industry and keep their clothes cruelty free.

Fashion Week Spring 2011: Mataano

One of the best parts of Fashion Week, to me any ways, is to learn about new designers that I have not heard of before.  They usually have an unexpected perspective and, because they are so new, they get very creative executing their presentations.

One of the loveliest I saw during the week (yep, I'm really spacing out these show posts) was the Mataano presentation.

Per their information sheet (I love to see how they present themselves.  Must be the Marketing person side of me):

Twins Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim launched Mataano with a Spring 2009 capsule collection to honor the unique and beautiful traditions found all over the world through their brand. The twin’s love and appreciation of rich cultural diversity has always inspired their designs. By tapping into their Somali, and American heritage, they aim to bring a multi cultural approach to design. Mataano’s attention to craftsmanship and styling is changing the way women dress to accommodate a global lifestyle where elegance must meet a woman’s everyday needs.

Spring/Summer 2011 Collection

For our Spring/Summer 2011 Collection you will sense nostalgia for the late1950’s to early 1960’s, but we didn’t let it overpower our modern sensibility. The highlight of this collection is the use of silk; from Italian shantung to printed organza you will find an array of silk blends. We wanted our customer to feel light and airy in her Spring clothes. The color palette presents an interesting marriage of unexpected light and dark tones to give the option for day and evening.

What was interesting was the venue.  The presentation was at the Museum of Biblical Art which is filled with these amazing example of iconography.   The room was hushed and the clothes, some on models and some on mannequins, contrasted with the intricate gilt displayed throughout.  Because this was a presentation, I was able to get up close to see the details of the pieces and take my time capturing shots.

Here are a few of my takes:

Here are some of the full shots provided but the designers:

That last look is my favorite.  I love the lace insets in the black and creme pieces but the flirty skirt and billowy jacket top looks comfortable and elegant. 

To learn more about Mataano visit them online or email them at info@mataano.com

Fashion Week - Stacy Lomman: New York Precious Metals Collection Spring 2011

I think it's only fitting that I finally start posting my Fashion Week coverage (I know! I know!) with Stacy Lomman's show - the Precious Metals collection. 

Stacy bootstrapped her way to creating this collection by using Kickstarter.  Wendy Brandes has been keeping track of the full story but suffice it to say, Stacy had a great level of interest and support.  Not just from friends and family but from many bloggers as well.  And a whole group of us showed up to see the show and applaud her success.

The show was wonderful, professional and inspirational.  The models were great and the venue was perfect for getting a close look at the attention to detail Stacy put into each piece.  These are some of my favorite shots from the collection which was inspired by 1960s Paco Rabanne and 1940s glamour.  (Check out all the shots in my FW Set on Flickr)

  

 

                   

Here's Ms Wendy doing her blogging thing... probably trying to get a better snap of her Cleopatra earrings that were featured in the show.

Afterwards we all mixed and mingled... and gushed over the work, of course!

I did get a chance to corner the lady of the hour to ask about her inspiration and her next collection, because with a response like this, you know there has to be one!

Stacy has already been featured on:

• 
  
  Life
• 
  
  Huffington Post 
• 
  
  WWD -  ( and pg 26 in print copy)
• 
  
  Look Online Daily Fashion Report
• 
  
  WireImage

I can't wait to see what happens next.  Congratulations, Stacy!