Coquette

Vivienne Tam After-Party

If it wasn't enough that I went to Vivienne's fashion show in the tents, being on the list for her after-party was a dream. I never write long stories on Coquette but this was such a funny story in itself I thought I must. Through all this, I got a chance to meet Vivienne Tam herself and I told her what an inspiration she was to this Chinese girl from SF!

My friend Leigh and I promptly hailed a cab right after the show at the tents to go to Vivienne Tam boutique in Soho where the after-party was held. After standing and walking in heels for most of the evening, not to mention the last 3 days in NY, we were not happy to be greeted with a standing line that was formed around the store. Thankfully, we weren't that far behind. As we waited we watched inside the store as they were still setting up for the party. Both Leigh and I were eyeing the three leather stools inside. THE ONLY SEATS IN THE STORE. Our plan was simple. Leigh was to get inside and grab a leather stool, one of three that we saw sit prominently in the center of the store. My task was to get the champagne.

By this time, the stools were all occupied by myself and Leigh, and two other gals. We were soon joined by Vivienne's longtime friend Shelly Bromfield (who used to work for DKNY). Here she is with her blinged out iPhone.

There comes a point in one's life where the pain of fashion (aka our feet), takes over the idea of actually standing and partying. Yes, there were fabulous people around, supermodels, designers, the Asian A list, they were all eyeing our seats. I had two glam ladies clad in their Christian Louboutons smile at me. Shelly looked at them, bent over and touched my hand and said, "Never give up the seat!" The other 2 gals who occupied the other stool was Danielle Yuen and Hannah Park, pictured above. We all knew we had something special going on at the party.

We turned out to be in the center of everything. We were there for Vivienne's grand entrance. Thanks to Shelly who was greeted so warmly by Vivienne, I was able to talk to her and snap a photo. We watched the PR gals dress up the naked mannequins into the Spring outfits. We saw the new HP clutch dash across the room before our eyes. People even started to dance in front of us. Now, we did make our turns around the room, only we did it while the other was saving that precious seat. You could see the pain in each woman's eye as the night went on. They knew those seats were like gold and as the store got more and more crowded, we definitely weren't giving them up!

The PR team were starting to dress up the mannequins into the outfits from the spring collection. We had a front row seat watching Vivienne float by and see that her outfit wasn't properly put together. With HP clutch in one hand, she takes control to have the outfit shine.

Later in the evening, the DJ was on fire so everyone started dancing, including Vivienne herself. It was so fun!

Here's Leigh at the end of the night, still resting on one of those leather stools.

You can see more shots from the evening in my Flickr slideshow.

Related Coquette Posts:
Vivienne Tam Spring 2010 Collection - NY Fashion Week
New Vivienne Tam HP Clutch - Butterfly Lovers

Vivienne Tam Spring 2010 Collection - NY Fashion Week

"Butterfly Lovers" was the theme of Vivienne Tam's Spring 2010 Collection. If you don't know it's the Chinese "Romeo and Juliet" where in the story the star-crossed lovers transform into butterflies to live happily ever after together.

From colorful close up prints of butterflies to dresses that had cut outs alluding to the shape of a butterfly, to one of my favorites (at the bottom) a sequined jacket filled with a butterfly's spectrum of colors, Vivienne created a collection that carried on the butterfly theme unlike anything I have seen before. Outfits were also with these fabulous large fringed bags which gave the show a very hippie chic kind of look and attitude. And to remind of us of Vivienne's strong role in technology, models were seen holding her new HP clutch while the whole fashion show was the first to be broadcast live over the web. I'm sure the video will be up on the viviennetam.com site in the near future.

Here's Leigh and I in our seats at the Vivienne Tam show. I'm wearing my Karen Millen dress (posted about here. too bad i am slouching down a bit for this photo). See more photos in my Flickr set.

Here's a short clip of the runway show taken from my iPhone.

Photos: image.net, HP Flickr

Project Runway Fashion Show and Christian Siriano's Spring 09 Collection - NY Fashion Week

Ok I have to admit, as a long time Project Runway fan, this season hardly had any stellar standouts. I'm not sure if it's the designers or the challenges they were given (too many felt sponsored based). I also feel like the show hasn't been edited well for us to connect with the designers, as if Bravo's just gave up now that the show is going to Lifetime for next season. Last season, after the first episode, I called that Christian Siriano was going to win. This season's been a lot harder to choose. I find myself wavering between designers liking some of their outfits but then getting disappointed at their bad ones. For some reason, this time 6 finalists were able to show at Bryant Park -- making it hard for us to weed out who the final top 3 really are. So I've picked my favorite top 3 based on their runway shows. And I'm gonna call my winner now for the show, I think it's going to be Korto. Her show had a sense of energy and the clothing while all cohesive, looked different.

See all of Korto's Runway Photos on NY Mag

I still love the work of Leanne of Leanimal. Her runway show of inspiring pleats and layers of fabric that recall a flowery spring. Unfortunately, some of the pieces looked the same.

See all of Leanne's Runway Photos on NY Mag

I loved the retro and colorful energy of Kenley's runway show but wasn't too into the puffed up shoulders or over the top bubble ruffle collar. Some pieces were fantastic but overall I felt there was a lack of cohesion.

See all of Kenley's Photos on NY Mag

You can also check out the fashion's from the other 3 guys: Jerrel, Joe, and Suede.

And then there's Christian Siriano who's design work just keeps getting better. In his Spring 09 fashion show, Christian goes modern and sophisticated with one of my favorite colors of the season, gray. I love the tiny peeks of color under a sheer top, as trim, or in the lining of a blazer.

See all of Christian's Spring 2009 Runway Photos on NY Mag

HP Vivienne Tam Special Edition Notebook - NY Fashion Week

Spotted at the Vivenne Tam runway show today is her new collaboration with HP, this beautiful Vivienne Tam Special Edition Notebook is a PC that looks like a beautiful clutch! Wonder if there's a special lip gloss compartment?

Here are more shots of the most fashionable computer to strut down NY Fashion Week's runways:

Read more about it in the Business Week article.

Source (Photos: Stuart Ramson)

Hussein Chalayan's Runway Big Bang Theory

Fashion designer Hussein Chalayan is no stranger to technology. Animatronics were used back in 2006. In his recent Paris Fall 2008 Fashion Show (via Boing Boing), the designer created mechanical dresses that sent out moving spots of light to symbolize the big-bang theory of the beginning of the universe. It's a beautiful sequence that feels almost like a ballet.

Click here to watch the video of the fashion show at Swarovski Sparkles TV.
(The models above come out at 11:30 in the video.)

Also on a non-tech related note, it was interesting to spot knitted calf boots by Chalayan (right) down the runway, just like the ones made by Tina Marrin (left) featured in the premiere issue of CRAFT Magazine back in the Fall of 2006.

You can also see photos of the entire Fall collection at Style.com.

Source

Chanel Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008

For a nice break with reality, I spent some time on Chanel.com browsing the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 fashion show (click on Fashion, then Fashion Shows). This dress above is my favorite for it's ability to continue my love for the soft pale hue of grey and for it's magical ability to transport me into the era of balls in Jane Austen-land. Look at the tiny hint of her satin slippers? Love it!

Here are more of my favorites from Chanel's Haute Couture show:

Paris Fashion Shows: Viktor & Rolf Spring Summer Collection 2008

Paris Fashion Shows
Viktor & Rolf Spring Summer Collection 2008

With soft long flowy layers and tiers, the fashions that came down the the runway at the Viktor & Rolf Spring Summer 2008 Fashion Show in Paris mixed modern elegance with a musical edge. It was hard rock meets the violin, which was an iconic theme done with a perfect twist. The minimalist clean palette of white, black, and soft pale pink showed off the amazing layers, cuts, and shapes of the designs that graced the runway. Watch the full video of the Viktor & Rolf fashion show above.

Photos: NY Mag

Michael Kors Spring 2008 Fashion Show

NY Fashion Week

Michael Kors Spring 2008 Fashion Show
09.10.2007

Michael Kors seems to be taking the reigns from Ralph Lauren as the King of classic American fashion. Sure these models look like the live in the Hamptons, but Kors gives us a taste for the modern high-life with his array of flowy gowns, cute tennis dresses, and cropped safari style jackets, belted of course. Plus all his handbags are drool worthy.

Key Looks: flowy gowns, shorts, safari style jackets, belted jackets and sweaters.
Key Colors: whites, lavender, pink, yellow, green, black.

Here are more key looks from the Michael Kors Spring 2008 Fashion Show:

(Photos: Runway Resource)

Dahl by Alison Kelly Spring 2008 Fashion Show

Alison Kelly the former Project Runway contestant from Season 3 debuted her Spring 2008 Dahl collection on the runways at Nolcha Fashion Week in NY which spotlighted the more up and coming designers we'll see more of in the future.

I was particularly drawn to Alison Kelly's collection because I always loved her fashionable style (sexy, modern, young) and I loved the idea of what inspired her collection.

"I dreamt of China in 1920, there was a woman sitting next to an elegantly dressed gentleman in an old Rolls Royce, she was the image of beauty, wearing a beautiful gown of sage green, jewels and lacquered hair. Her eminence comes to life in this collection.” says Kelly.

Here are a few more pieces from the Dahl by Alison Kelly Spring 2008 Fashion Show:

Here's Alison Kelly in a cute dress herself!

Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 Fashion Show

NY Fashion Week
Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 Fashion Show
09.10.2007

Marc Jacobs had fun at his show reinterpreting looks from the different decades and eras in his spring 2008 collection. I loved the dresses and gowns from the show and these 20's style outfits above that followed the flowy dress trend of spring. Everyday dresses in black and white prints or floral patterns (one of the key themes) also had a nice long silky silouette. I also loved the cocktail dresses in layers of tulle for the 50's debutant and the sleek modern evening gowns.

Key Looks: flowy dresses, floral dresses, shorts, sheer fabrics and layers.
Key Colors: black, red, beige, purple, grey, and pastels.

Here are more key looks from the Marc Jacobs Spring 2008 Fashion Show:

(Photos: Runway Resource)