Q. Last year you wrote about attending New York’s Fashion Week. I know it was recently, and was wondering if things are the same or did you are see anything new?
A. As a heads-up for my regular Male Call readers, the content of this week’s column will, no doubt, be of more interest to female readers than what usually appears every week. In the years that I have been writing my men’s how-to dress book and this column, I have noticed that when someone asks me, „What is new?“ that question never comes from a man.
Women care about what is new in fashion. Men, on the other hand, care about looking appropriate, not embarrassing themselves and feeling well dressed. Although a lot of the designers include a sprinkling of men’s garments, little of what is shown at Fashion Week could honestly be considered to be menswear.
To answer your question about the recent shows (spring/summer 2018), I have seen a few differences. Rather than the past seasons‘ usual sea of black garments, this year’s shows featured a surprisingly large number of white outfits — everything from sporty white casual clothes to spectacular white ball gowns.
While every year’s shows present clothes that go beyond what a normal woman would ever actually wear, some of this season’s gowns were so over-the-top I could hardly picture their being appropriate for even the most social woman’s party schedule or for the Oscar’s red carpet. Some gowns had huge hoop skirts that reminded me of drawings in the old Cinderella stories. I can’t imagine how they would fit into the limousine (or the chariot) that transported the wearer to the ball.
Two styles I kept seeing repeated were sexy, high-heeled boots paired with dressy clothes and stiletto-heeled platform shoes. They looked great, but seemed hard to walk in. And, unlike past years when prescribed hem lengths changed every couple of seasons, this year they spanned the range from very short to full-length; many were distinctly asymmetrical.
Another oddity was the high necklines on the clothes. Although these were spring and summer collections, an unusual number of garments had high necklines rather than the scooped-neck designs one would expect for warm weather. One whole collection from a new designer named Kur was based on interesting and unique variations on the classic woman’s white shirt, everything from tops for wearing with pants to long white cotton summer dresses.
Interestingly, a lot of the designer gowns and the more casual daytime outfits shared one design device: a preponderance of multiple embellishments piled on and added to the same garment. These included glitter, appliques, inserts of lattice-work, lace, embroidery, ruffles, dangling (and swinging) mini pompoms, horizontal military tabs, complicated sleeve treatments, gold leather jackets and feathers.
Some of the most elaborate and dramatic gowns I saw were from Malan Breton (Project Runway, Season 3). He actually uses the word „decadent“ in his own promotional material. You can Google his spring/summer ’18 runway show to see dozens of his designs. One of the most spectacular was modeled by Mason Grammer (daughter of TV’s Kelsey Grammer) as the audience responded with applause and shouts of „Gorgeous!“ Although his fashion background does include menswear, I wish I could say that the few designs he showed for men were on the same taste level. Too white, too „costumey“ and too high-school prom wear for any man who could afford them.
Lest you think the Fashion Week participants have completely abandoned their love of (or obsession with) black, the product not-so-subliminally promoted is a new water drink called „blk.“ Bottles of this strange black-colored water were being given out and being placed on front-row seats. Drinking from my bottle was an eerie reminder of when Hurricanes Harvey and Irma fill this week’s news, bringing to mind the lack of clean, clear water in some of the „real world“ out there.
As always, the locations of the shows and the people in the audience are almost as much fun to watch as the models. This year, many shows were staged aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid, anchored in New York harbor. At Breton’s show on the Intrepid, across from me in their front row reserved seats were cast members from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
They were there to enjoy the fashions, to be seen, and also to film an episode for the current Season 8 of the popular show. After the runway presentation, as we were all leaving, I overheard a young woman from the audience ask a very attractive young man nearby, „Weren’t you on The Bachelorette? He said, „Yes“ and I’m sure made her day.Read more at:purple formal dresses | cheap formal dresses online