New York Fashion Week got pulses racing on
Valentine’s Day, with boyish allure from Victoria Beckham, a champagne and
dance party from Diane von Furstenberg and stunning magic realism from
Prabal
Gurung.
Supermodel Karlie Kloss and Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour led
fashionistas braving 11 degrees Fahrenheit (-12 Celsius) on one of the
coldest
weekends in 20 years in New York on day four of the style bonanza that wraps
up Thursday.
Beckham began the day by sending a boyish yet fine-tailored feminine
collection down a carpeted runway, with her English footballer husband
David,
and their children Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper front row.
Models strode the carpeted runway in checks, houndstooth and stripes
in a
collection that showcased Beckham’s increasingly sophisticated and evolving
personal style, her Spice Girls days long gone.
Beckham’s answer to wrapping up warm is layering up, so spaghetti
strap
dresses were paired with luscious ribbed knits, checked double-breasted
coats
with ribbed sleeves and knitted leggings.
“I don’t know what to say, I feel quite overwhelmed, so I’m really
happy,”
said the English designer backstage after winning praise from style editors,
dressed unusually casually in white sneakers, tailored dark trousers and an
oversized white sweater.
“There are some more masculine fabrics, which I’ve used,” she told
reporters.
“It feels like a very feminine collection to me but I love adding those
menswear elements to really toughen it up.”
#VBAW16 x vb
A photo posted by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham) on Feb 14, 2016 at 2:47pm PST
Beckham, whose second store opens in Hong Kong in weeks following the
success of her Mayfair boutique in London, said she used light fabrics to
take
into consideration her clients in different climates.
“Asia is my fastest-growing market,” Beckham told AFP.
“I really love Asian women, I feel that they really understand fashion
and
it seemed like the perfect place for the second store.”
There were coats galore but also plenty of bare shoulders.“Love power” with Diane von Furstenberg
“I just wanted to look at what I’ve worn and what I love and just
rework
those pieces to make them feel new and fresh, and just show how my personal
style has evolved,” Beckham said.One well-wisher presented her with a beautifully crafted posy of pink
and
white roses backstage and wished her a happy Valentine’s Day.
But when asked if she had special plans later Sunday, the 41-year-old
mother of four said: “I’ll be working!”Diane von Furstenberg dispensed with the catwalk to invite her guests
to
celebrate Valentine’s Day and “love power” by sipping champagne and nibbling
vodka jelly hearts as models danced.
She hosted the event at her studios in the Meatpacking District, where
Kloss wore a long golden wrap dress, and models of the moment Gigi Hadid and
Kendall Jenner posed and danced in a little tableau. Von Furstenberg also
joined them briefly, throwing a few shapes with the
models to the strains of 1979 disco hit “We Are Family.”Prabal Gurung, the New York-based Nepalese designer, summed up his
collection as a fashion designer’s take on magical realism inspired by
French
artist Henri Rousseau’s 1905 oil painting “Woman Walking in an Exotic
Forest”
and the 1813 poem “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron.There were luxurious oversized coats with exaggerated fur collars.
A designer who often finds inspiration in nature, he opened the show with
models dressed in snow white, and intricate feather and leaf designs were
picked out on coats in prints and hand-embroidered lace.Contrasting with snow were pewter, midnight, ivory, cherry,
blackberry and
pale blue sky, his classic east-meets-west approach mixed hand-knit Nepalese
cashmere and printed, pleated leather.
His coats were breathtaking, such as a snow wool duffle coat with white
fox
fur trim, and an oversized pale blue jacket with an enormous pale blue and
midnight blue fox fur trim collar running down the front.
“Amazing,” “wow,” breathed members of the audience as Gurung appeared
for a
little wave at the end of the show and a burst of applause. (AFP)