FADER NYFW, Spring 2014
Save for a few outliers, New York Fashion Week rarely produces challenging collections. It’s a predictably pretty affair where designers test out their creative impulses with accessories, beauty looks, and atmospherics and, when it comes to the clothes, send out a collection of slightly modified foundational separates. It’s hard to blame them for playing it safe when there’s so much at stake; putting on a show doesn’t come cheap and even more money goes into manufacturing a line. But, that’s what makes us appreciate the risk-takers all the more. This season, there were a handful of designers putting a perverse twist on the sheer trend that dominated the runway for fall 2013. Ammerman Schlösberg, pictured above, dreamed up a diaphanous frock with duct tape panels at the waist, accessorized with dominatrix opera gloves. Kye added edge to a see-through shirt by pairing it with a clear biker jacket and a solid skirt with dangling garter straps. Likewise, Sally LaPointe layered an exposing plaid dress with a patent leather moto topper. Even the classically demure Jason Wu, who always designs for a strong woman – one of which, the First Lady, put him on the map—showed a lot of skin this season with a gauzy dress fit for a sex club, slit at both thighs and held up by a bustier bodice. Rag & Bone, Tess Giberson, and Sophie Theallet also showed variations of seductive sheers. Don’t expect to pull off these law-breaking garments IRL though – unless you’ve got a good slip, or are actually headed to a sex club.
Kye
Sally LaPointe
Jason Wu
rag + bone
Tess Giberson
Sophie Theallet