NYFW: A/W2015 American Heart Association Show
We attended the Style Fashion Week show presented by New York Life benefitting the American Heart Association. The Salon at Lincoln Center was packed with excitement as the show began with a group of dancers doing an upbeat hip-hop routine. The designers presented that afternoon were Altaf Maaneshia, Esosa, Ly Qui Khanh, Patricia Bonaldi and Dany Tabet.
Maaneshia’s collection featured both mens’ and womenswear, mixing geometric cuts of leather and other materials with bold colors to create asymmetric, extremely well-constructed pieces. Our favorite pieces were his oversized yet structured wrap-around jackets, which made great use of the leather-on-colorblock look that was consistent in his collection. We got a slightly urban-futuristic feel from these designs, and look forward for what is to come from this designer.
Esosa’s collection made use of maroons and ruby-reds, which we are seeing a lot of this season. His womenswear line consisted of both upscale-casual and formal wear, mixing patterns and materials to give an “uptown funk” feel, while holding on to the elegance of simplicity.
Designer Ly Qui Khanh of Vietnam introduced his collection entitled “The Last Petal," inspired by the beauty of both nature and the female body. This collection definitely stood out to us, as it made use of traditional gown styles, yet also went to the extremes with certain pieces. Using metals and plastic, he constructed a cage-like piece in the shape of a dress, as well as gold wire butterfly wings adorned with what seemed like touch-screen phones. It was definitely one of the most innovative collections we saw that afternoon.
Both Patricia Bonaldi and Dany Tabet showcased elegant evening gowns, both of which made use of intricate mesh and beading designs. Tabet seemed to have a distinct grasp of manipulating the silhouette of the female body through both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs and placement of cutouts in the gowns. Our favorite piece was a fit-to-the-body ivory gown that tapered out at the bottom, with a beautiful symmetrical black beaded design throughout—giving the look of a nude, painted-on design. We definitely see some of these designs making their way onto the red carpet into the near future.
