NYFW SS14: Day 1

Right, enough messing around, let’s crack on with the New York Fashion Week coverage. Day 1 of NYFW SS14 kicked off with Nicholas K up at Lincoln Center. Having got home sometime in the wee hours thanks to a night that turned out to be rather more fun than intended (click here for a reminder) my mind wasn’t exactly at its sharpest, always a great way to start seven days of shows, or not. Having decided there was no WAY I’d even attempt the subway without an iced latte in hand I found myself running late and leaping on completely the wrong train in a state of panic. When I finally realised my mistake it was all I could do not to burst into tears but melting down so early in to fashion month would have been a bit pathetic so instead I leapt into the nearest taxi and spent the next 20 rather expensive minutes stuck in mid town traffic. This anxiety overload turned out to be entirely unnecessary because, as I’m sure you’ll remember, New York shows run notoriously behind schedule and I arrived in time to spent another 20 minutes in my seat feeling slightly foolish. But enough about my blunders, let’s talk fashion.

I wore: Related top, Tibi Shorts, Mulberry bag, Carrera by Jimmy Choo sunglasses & Vince Camuto sandals

Admittedly Nicholas K isn’t exactly my cup of tea, I suspect I’d look more than a little ridiculous attempting to pull off the urban nomad look. That said, the brother sister design duo have a clear aesthetic which they reliably nail every season. Their latest offerings were utility luxe through and through. Think lashings of drapery in neutral, earthy hues, organic fabrics and loose layering. Drawing inspiration from shamanism, the designers created an array of abstract prints inspired by the smudging fan traditionally used to ward of evil spirits. I could imagine seeing a lot of this adorning the waiflike forms of models hanging out in downtown cafes. Under no circumstances to be paired with knee high socks, ballet flats or anything that could conceivably be in my own wardrobe.

Nicholas K SS14

Still mildly traumatised from the most stressful journey of all time, I decided to make a high speed Starbucks dash (yes, another one) before show number two. I know that just a few days earlier I’d been praising the New York heat but I’m going to have to go back on my word now. If you’re sans driver then a few shows in to the day you’ll inevitably start feeling like a sweaty lumberjack which is never helped by that fact Olivia Palermo is more often than not perched opposite you looking so immaculate you want to melt away entirely. Thanks to my walk-subway-taxi-sprint journey I was feeling pretty icky before things even started which wasn’t helped by the insanely long coffee queue which left me legging in back into Lincoln Center so as not to actually miss BCBG Max Azria. The FROW included a bevvy of immaculate editors and celebs including Olivia Palermo (looking as polished as ever), Joanna Hillman and Nina Garcia, naturally all sporting the a spot of the label. When a contemporary brand’s been around and hugely popular for 25 years I can imagine it would be easy and no doubt tempting to continue churning out the same stuff season after season. Well, the husband and wife team behind BCBG aren’t afraid to mix it up and the results this season were impressive and perhaps, dare I say it, a little more directional than what we’ve seen before.

BCBG Max Azria SS14

As I soon learned, tailoring is a major buzzword for SS14 and the Azria’s articulated a wearable, city chic take on it with dipped hems, dropped waists and silhouettes that appeared both soft and sculpted all at once. The show opened with an array of pale hued, crisp cotton ensembles including collarless shirt dresses, low slung wide leg trousers and cropped shirting with voluminous sleeves. From there it moved into marbled and floral prints in billowing chiffon freshened up by way of sheer panelling, another major SS14 trend, it’s cropped up everywhere! Between the effortless-yet-precisely-executed summer layering, origami folds and cocoon trench coating BCBG Max Azria’s latest offerings built on the air of nonchalance we saw for AW13 and were worlds away from last Summer’s trussed up bondage vibe while a final few embellished numbers no doubt reassured the label’s less trend conscious customers that they’ll still be able to pick up a cocktail frock or three come Spring.

Anyway, stress and sweat (ewww) aside, morning 1 was actually a total breeze. Three shows all in the same venue, just what you need when your feeling like a cat nap could, or at least should, be impending. My final show was Richard Chai Love and having never attended one of his before, I was rather excited

Richard Chai Love SS14

I’ll admit, I didn’t know a great deal about the designer before this but this collection made me want to change all that. I always find it fascinating to see the same styles, or “trends” crop up in God-knows-how many shows with each brand’s own spin on it. Layering, sheer panelling, structured yet slouch silhouettes are all, or so I know realise, hotter-than-hot looks for SS14 and Richard Chai offered them up in cleanly cut linens, fluid silks and barely-there gauzy fabrics. Besides ice whites (which, I’ll be honest, don’t entirely get my pulse racing) paired with crimson the designer delivered a selection of stunning prints including aztec inspired geometrics, picture pretty poppies and marbled greens that, on closer inspection, had a little tartan involvement going on. The show finished up with a dark and dramatic finale of billowing black chiffon, skintight leather bikers and oil slick effect sequins. Funnily enough I met the lovely Richard at the Phillip Lim for Target party that evening so got the chance to congratulate him on a great show in person!

Love Ella. X