Every Fashion Week, we ask buyers from various boutiques what they liked from the collections. After all, whatever they snap up will soon hang from racks next season. Today, Rita Brookoff from Legacy (famed for both its vintage and hard-to-find designers) clues us in on her picks. She was thrilled with Karen Walker’s nautical looks and adored Organic, but was none too fond of Jill Stuart. Read on to see more of her reactions.
Organic by John Patrick
Organic by John Patrick will be in my shop come spring 2010 (and in my personal closet). Loved almost everything — the shorts, the shrunken boy suits, the bowed shirt dress, and Shalom Harlow, still as beautiful as ever. Fresh-faced models with red lips play to all my fashion and makeup sensibilities. Clean, crisp looks that are classic and fresh — hard to achieve, but this collection has taken a giant step forward, and I for one am in step.
Karen Walker
Ahoy, matey! This nautically derived collection will be the perfect antidote to the winter doldrums. I’m putty when you combine sailor stripes, ruffles, dots, and vintage prints.
This is exactly what Karen Walker did with spring 2010, making it one of my favorites of the week. A very well-edited collection with lots of key pieces to choose from.
The easy classics are go-to pieces that can easily enhance your existing wardrobe or to be worn on their own.
See a slideshow of the Karen Walker collection.
Jill Stuart
There was more spandex on the runway than at an aerobics class at Bally’s. The clothes were too body-conscious for everyone except Victoria Beckham, and now that she’s got her own brand, I have no idea who the customer for this collection is. There was just too much of everything — too much bondage, too much bandage, too many grommets and studs. The show continued in the same beleaguered manner as before. I can see missteps in a show — it happens to the best — but this show was almost all bungled. There was absolutely nothing for the die-hard Jill Stuart fans.
See a slideshow of the Jill Stuart collection.
Thakoon
When Monsieur Thakoon sticks to what he does best, he soars. The print-collage draped dresses were so lovely to look at, and I imagine easy to wear. But he must forgo the hard-edged pants, leggings, and jackets, and stick to what he does with such aplomb. More dresses, flirty blouses, and skirts, and just leave the hard-edged stuff to the rockers.
See a slideshow of the Thakoon collection.
Rodarte
The West Coast designers seem to have channeled Mel Gibson films in this spring collection. The Mad Max(ine) references in a postapocalyptic world with tattooed arms, shredded skirts, and patchworked sweaters evoked the wearer gathering the remains of old garments and reconfiguring them into a new piece of clothing or armor more for protection than frivolity. The draping and knotting of the massive plaid shawls recalled Mel again, this time in his thirteenth-century epic, Braveheart. For me this was a muddling of references, eras, and fabrics. Yes, there was texture and grace, but this did not recall spring past, present, or future.
See a slideshow of the Rodarte collection.
