Fashion Week: Betsey Johnson Spring 2012

One of the most anticipated shows of New York Fashion Week is Betsey Johnson’s show.  For those of you who weren’t there, here is the invite and program book.

It might just be me but I enjoy all these little details – must be the event planner in me.  Here is the inside to the program book which has a cute way of listing out the models, credits and sponsors.

Her press release described how this collection blended “modern elements with her signature vintage style and aesthetic.”  The Betsey team cites Brigit Bardot and 1940s burlesque dancers as the inspirations.  Take a look at this video highlight clip and you’ll see peekaboo lingerie, corseting, flirty and sometimes borderline slutty outfits paired with Bardot hair waves.  What do you think?

Personally, Betsey’s outfits are too over-the-top-girly even for me and these runway styles somewhat reminded me of what Pretty Woman might wear in 2012… not exactly what I want to be emulating.  But you’ve got to love Betsey’s shows even if just for the anticipation of her unique model finales and signature cartwheel.  Plus you can’t beat the energy and fun factor of a Betsey show which is always why it is one of the highlights of my fashion weeks.

What caused the most stir this year at Betsey’s show was the appearance of a blue wigged, Nicki Minaj.  In fact from what I hear, the whole show started late because of Nicki’s late appearance.  Sort of a black Lady Gaga, Nicki garners attention with her outlandish outfits.  I immediately felt sorry for the poor fashionista who would have to sit behind that giant mess of a hairdo because surely that is all she would get to see!

I never thought Nicki would be the type of celebrity that PR agencies would wrangle and secure for a front row fashion show seat – she isn’t exactly what I’d call the most fashionable.  Buzz-worthy yes but mostly for all the wrong reasons.  I gasped when I heard and saw that Nicki sat next to fashion icon, Anna Wintour during the Carolina Herrera show this year – what an odd sight that was!  Sort of fashion sacrilege in my book, if you ask me!

I imagine Anna must’ve been cringing underneath those dark shades.  With all the technicolors that Nicki was wearing beside her, it is no wonder she kept the shades on!  What a contradiction in style those two make!

To win the Betsey Johnson goody bag that I picked up at the fashion show, comment here and (any) 2 other entries (and leave your email so I can notify you if you win) !

And come back for further NY fashion week updates and another goody bag giveaway!

 

Style Diary: Fashion Week Outfit #2

On Saturday I saw Eva Minge’s fashion show, a relatively amateur production showing a limited collection of black and white fashion.

I mean what event planner would choose a venue with dangerous cords and wires down the dark alleyways and forget to adequately staff the check-in desk leaving everyone waiting forever (painfully in heels mind you), in a dark winding basement hallway with (gasp) no air conditioning?  Needless to say, the first impression lacked.  The organizers seemed anything but organized as they rushed to and fro seemingly lacking focus and direction.  The event planner in me sympathized with their situation but not enough to steal my attention away from the tasty taco I just bought from a street vendor across the street.  A fashionista who has been trekking around NYC on heels has got to eat!

All of you regular readers know how I love the classic black and white combo.  But even I got bored with the combo…  I mean really, 50+ black and white looks down one runway?  Did the designer run out of budget for additional fabrics and only have the money to buy 2 colors in bulk?  The London based stylist that I met at the show critiqued that the collection seemed all over the place, ranging from swimwear and lingerie to men’s looks, women’s work outfits, to sexy going out clothes and formal wear.  And I agreed.  The sequence of presentation sometimes seemed off and we both agreed that there needed to be increased drama, energy and pace.  Critiques aside though, there were some pieces that peaked my interest.  The blazers with zipper detail were interesting and the asymmetrical white dress with black bandau top (see below) would be great for a skinny little pop star (which I am not so I’ll stick with the more work-appropriate blazer). What was hilarious to me was that the London stylist, noted how this collection would never take off well in London because apparently that last name, “Minge” translated into “cunt” there.  day -am!

Had I known the show was going to be so black and white, I might have worn a similarly themed ensemble.  But instead I wore a cream bubble dress by Bebe (also worn in a different way in this blog entry) and topped it off with an old French Connection sweater vest and Michael Kors gold studded belt from Saks.

Did anyone else out there watch this runway show?  If so, what did you think of the collection and production?

 

 

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