Lyn Devon Fall/Winter 2008

Lyn Devon is another designer to watch according to Style.com.  There’s no doubt that this talented designer who once designed for the likes of Ralph Lauren and Zac Posen is making a name for herself and winning fans all over the world. 

Lyn Devon began her business out of her apartment basement back in 2005.  Now, she has earned accolades such as the “Rising Star Award” in Women’s Ready to Wear, bestowed to her in 2007 by Fashion Group International.  Not to mention a roster of celebrities such as Sara Jessica Parker, Julia Stiles and Mena Suvari.

In February, Ms. Devon granted the blog FABSUGAR an exclusive interview.  In that interview, Ms. Devon revealed her inspiration for her Fall/Winter 2008 collection.

“This season I started with armor. A warrior. An artful, independent spirit — which is always my muse. I really wanted to play with the idea of hard and soft and having these structural elements but keeping it feminine and really contoured to the body. I definitely brought it closer to the body this season. I was feeling sexy.”

When I first reviewed this collection, I thought it was more architectural and futuristic.  Take a look…

Photo Source: Style.com

Photo Source: FabSugar

I was really struck by this collection over the other 9 designers that were chosen.  Her designs are modern and edgy, but not so edgy that you need to sport a mohawk and a nose piercing (at least not everyday).

Continued success to Lyn Devon.  This fashion lover looks forward to her Spring 2009 collection.

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Wills India Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008

Have you ever heard the saying it’s always Happy Hour somewhere?  Well it seems this adage applies to Fashion Week around the world. 

Last week while I was covering Japan Fashion Week Tokyo, New Deli India was hosting their own.

However some industry insiders felt Wills India Fashion Week (WIFW) designers did not take into account global weather and questioned who Indian designers were marketing to.

Benedicte Bro, an international fashion consultant, asked, “Who is the target client for the Indian designers? The clothes they showed seem to be for a fantasy woman whose only preoccupation is to look pretty. The designers right now are definitely not catering to the working woman.” She added, “Good clothes are powerful.”

The article also goes on to say:

Chantal Rousseau, operating vice-president, Europe Bloomingdales said, “I have been coming for the autumn/winter fashion week now for some time but I am wondering if I should continue because if the week is held in March there is no way the deliveries can happen by the time the autumn/winter collections are in stores in the west.”

So what were they looking at?  Here are some highlights from WIFW.

Manish Arora

Said to be inspired by warrior fashions from around the world.

Rina Dhaka

Puja Arya

Charu Parashar

Ekru

What do you think of these pictures?  Frankly based on these pictures, I do not see how the above criticisms are warranted.  I see a lot of influences that we have seen elsewhere; i.e. Manish Arora’s first picture feels a little Galliano and the second definitely is Ballenciaga Spring 2008.  I also see the Ombre influence in  Charu Parashar’s beautiful long beige, crimson and gold skirt.  But how are these clothes and less wearable than runway shows we see in Paris, New York and Milan?  There are all sorts of  “unwearable” fashion that comes down those runways if you hold it to the average woman’s standards; especially work wear.

 Any Indian readers out there?  What’s your take?

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Sources: Business Standard; Fashion Wire Daily

Tokyo Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008

This is an exciting week in fashion as Tokyo unveils their Autumn/Winter collections for 2008.  Unlike many other countries, Japan’s Fashion Week is organized by the Japanese government along with the private sector to bring international awareness to this countries talented fashion design community.

Many well known Japanese designers such as Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Jun Takashi of Undercover are well known names worldwide.  However, these designers no longer show in Tokyo.  Instead, they have moved their collections to Paris for greater recognition.

JFW started on Monday with 4 shows under it’s belt with a total of  45 brands set for exhibition.

Here are some highlights of Monday’s shows.

KAMISHIMA CHINAMI by Chinami Kamishima

HIROMI YOSHIDA

MODE ÀCŌTÉ by Minoru Adachi

Hidenobu Yasui

I’ll keep you posted on any noteworthy designs in the coming week.

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 Photo Source