NYFW SS15: Day 5

I wore Tory Burch top & skirt with Coach heels, Lulu Guinness bag & Cutler and Gross sunglasses
The Urban Spotter

NYFW had thus far been snag free. I’d had fun, made all my shows on time, just about stayed on top of things back in Blighty and managed to avoid losing my phone/credit card/sanity. Of course, this was not to last. The previous evening had turned into a truly epic New York night involving hologram shows in Central Park, Iggy Azalea performing on the 68th floor of the new World Trade Centre, 3am crepes on The Standard rooftop and an after hours affair at a rather famous model’s apartment. I suddenly realised I had about two hours until I had to be up, made a mad dash home for a catnap and woke up about fifteen minutes before my first show. After getting ready so fast my eyes were barely open by the time I fell into my car (thank God for Uber!) I somehow made it to Lincoln Centre JUST in the nick of time to beg the reluctant security guard to let me into the venue as the first Tory Burch look hit the catwalk…

Tory Burch SS15

The second I laid eyes on that look – an earthy yellow affair involving a matching shorts and jacket combo in woven fabric with charmingly naive white pattern, fringed hems and knitted collar – it rocketed way up my rapidly expanding SS15 wish list. I’m not usually a fan of anything that obviously reeks of handcrafted tradition or ethnic inspiration, which woven fabrics, fringing, raffia and beads tend to, but despite the fact these all played a starring role in Tory Burch’s collection I utterly adored it. Perhaps that’s because Tory, a doyenne of Upper East Side life herself, has an uncanny ability to transform whatever starting point, palette or materials take her fancy into a deliciously polished product. Looking to French artist and lover of Picasso, Françoise Gilot, Tory Burch offered up perfectly cut tunic tops, skirts, dresses and shirting in patterns that recalled the couple’s home in Vallauris and broderie anglaise designed to resemble ceramics, a skill Picasso honed while living there. According to Tory this collection was all about creating an interplay between the raw and the refined, and I certainly couldn’t think of a better way to describe it. Marled blurred striped knits used to concoct tailored city shape shorts, abstracted prints on sleek silks, long line blanket wrapped dresses and silver embellished pencil skirts in raw cotton. Tory Burch’s SS15 collection was true to her brand aesthetic and true to her cited inspiration, not to mention just plan good!

J.Crew SS15

Having been distracted from how knackered I was and how bad I probably smelt by Tory’s show, it was time to trot across to see some J.Crew. Nothing like two of your favourite brands showing within an hour to kick even the most killer of hangovers am I right! As far as I’m concerned, J.Crew can do no wrong. They just nail easy, eclectic stylishness season after season. This season was especially eclectic with Jenna Lyons citing traditional Latin American textiles, Aurora borealis, Ibiza, basketball, Men’s workwear and Men’s sleepwear as inspirations. As for the clothes themselves, spanning chambray denim (it wouldn’t be a J.Crew collection without!) to glittering pencil skirts and sequinned florals by way of mesh basketball shorts and fringed, striped cotton, they was certainly a varied lot. But, while in theory green leather trousers, Breton stripes and neon bright knitwear aren’t the most obvious of bedfellows, they were held together by the brands carefully honed and instantly recognisable, if perhaps indescribable, aesthetic. Another hit for sure, with many a piece that will find its way into my wardrobe.

DIESEL Black Gold SS15

After leaving the J.Crew presentation I grabbed a much needed coffee and headed home for an equally needed shower. In my haste to get out of the house after oversleeping, I hadn’t managed to have one, classy I know. Next on my agenda was Diesel Black Gold. Given that I’ve been working a fair bit with the Italian uber brand recently, I was very much looking forward to seeing what they had in store for us. With Rita Ora, Mia Moretti and Anna Dello Russo on the FROW, excitements were running high and Andreas Melbostad delivered one of his best collections for the label yet. Drawing inspiration from new wave rockers and rockabilly heroines, Melbostad offered up leathers, studding, barely there bra tops and the kind of bad girl sensibility we’ve come to expect. This season however, the hard edged cool was given a subtly girlish twist by way of star prints and untreated denim in shades of baby blue and pillarbox red. Striking the perfect balance between naughty and nice, it was a strong show and one way or another, I’m determined to get myself into one of those little dresses.

My final show of the day was Marc by Marc Jacobs. Having missed Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier’s debut show for the label but obsessed over the pics I saw of the collection, I couldn’t wait to attend this one and my expectations were high to say the least. Having struggled my way over on the subway and through the muggy, rainy streets I arrived at Pier 94 to be greeted by techno beats, twirling neon multicoloured lights and a light prism in the middle of the catwalk. I spied Alexa Chung looking impossibly awesome in a pink patent leather pencil skirt and polkadot shirt and hoped that those delights bore some relation to the new collection.

Closest to a warehouse rave you’ll ever find me…

Surprisingly late start from Marc, given he’s usually such a stickler for kicking off bang on time. Well, late by his usual standards, nothing on every other show ever’s half hour delay. Once the show did begin it was most certainly with a bang as Rhythm Controll’s “My House” boomed out over the speakers. In what appeared to be a glorious homage to rave culture, the collection that ensued was in equal parts rebellious, playful and imaginative. Punky PVC and polkadots were married with stomping pastel wellie boot, prom style dresses layered over t-shirts and ordinarily ordinary staples like rain coats, macs amd tuxedo jackets contorted and transformed into something new to the point of being almost furturistic. There was certainly a teenage feel to the collection, everything look came with lashings of slouch while the palette of grungy hues gave way to into candy and primary colour pop. Overblown prints and top knotted hair styling added a charmingly, if slightly subversively, cartoon esque air and my favourite looks had to be the dresses with asymmetric pleats firing in all shades and directions. As the show drew to a close, Marc led the rousing applause and there was a slightly comic moment when the models lined up facing us and literally every attendee raised their iPhones in unison, all set to square for instagram purposes I assume.

Marc by Marc Jacobs SS15

At this point I started to feel very sad indeed that I’d be leaving New York in just a few days, I’m desperately craving my next trip!

Love Ella. X