Digital Couture Project — Epson Presentation

Posted on February 15, 2016 by SMM

A pure treat for me last NYFW season was attending the Epson Digital Couture Presentation, and so of course this season, I was looking forward to seeing even more stunning, unique, highly creative vibrant prints!

LENERD BY FELIPPE — Colombia

Great use of color here, so rich and it stands out!!

OSSIRA BY AGOSTINE ORLANDI & LUDMILA OSIKOVSKY — from Argentina

There is such a relaxed, stylish vibe here and I love the color palette.

CRISTINA RUALES — Brooklyn, NY

The prints here are gorgeous. I love this slate dress. It was a fave of mine from this presentation.

TIGRESSE — from Brasil

Tigresse knows how to work with colors and prints, and does it well!

SANTIKA BY DANNY SANTIAGO — from Miami, FL

This is some stunning RTW — got such a jet-setting, vacay vibe.

CHLOE TRUJILLO — from Los Angeles

This printed purple dress on the right is definitely a work of art, but very much a fashionable work of art.

MATIAS HERNAN — from Chile

Those boots!!! Werk!!

FABRIZZIO — from Costa Rica

Menswear fashion week was last week, so it was great to see a few designs for the gents here.

KALEIDOSCOPIC — from Mexico

It’s definitely cold here in NYC, not swimsuit season, but there is no harm in thinking ahead, right!!

PIONEER — from Peru

Love seeing RTW, but also some great light-weight outerwear.

GUSTAVO BY GM

Even more great menswear — love it!!

Upscale NYC Hair Stylist Helps City’s Homeless In Unique Way

NYMD Round-Up

Posted on February 27, 2015 by SMM

Here is a round-up post for a few menswear designers who presented at NYMD during NYFW, held at Industria Superstudio and presented by Cadillac — Cadet, Fingers Crossed, & Garcia Velez.

Cadet

Inspired by the wartime restrictions in the Forties, Cadet presented tailored clothing mixed with workwear staples. Classic pieces included double-breasted suits, chunky shawl cardigans, bombers, and beanies in herringbone twill and wool blended with nylon. The collection was an ode to the gritty soldier, but in a modern way.

Raúl Arévalo and Brad Schmidt launched their brand, Cadet, in 2011. All clothes are produced in their workshop in Bushwick, Brooklyn, pairing subtle military references with an elegant urban take on menswear.

Fingers Crossed

Ryu Hayama dug deep for inspiration for his collection — the deep blue sea that is — with a nautical-themed offering that offered water prints on pajama bottoms and shirts, bright yellow leather bombers and track pants, and a traditional French sailor’s stripe on sweaters.

But Hayama elevated the collection by including sharp tailoring in suits and topcoats as well in rich wool-cashmere blends. The voluminous, multi-pleated pants and belted topcoats were very on trend.

Garcia Velez

A Harvard-educated architect, professor and author, Carlos Garciavelez finally embraced his first love by designing a men’s collection. No surprise then that his inaugural offering integrated many elements of architectural design such as paneling in shirts, ribbing in blazers and concealed pockets and pleats that were reminiscent of the shapes and corners of buildings. These extra details provided a sense of movement that married the athletic essence of the overall collection.

GARCIAVELEZ was created to deliver comfortably tailored clothing for the fast paced modern life. Conceived for today’s cultural nomad – a sophisticated, curious man in constant search of inspiration through life’s travels – the brand examines the global citizen, who returns home to infuse a wanderlust spirit into his daily life in the city.

Carleen Pop-up at Erica Weiner’s Brooklyn Locale

Posted on December 2, 2014 by SMM

Erica Weiner, vintage jewelry-maker extraordinaire, is going to be hosting a pop-up for Carleen, a vintage-minded women’s clothing line, created by Brooklyn-based designer Kelsy Parkhouse. This exciting venture began on Nov. 21st, but don’t fret, it is up & running until Jan. 1, 2015. Erica Weiner has 2 locations, but the one you need to know about for this exciting collaboration is her shop in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn — 360 Atlantic Avenue.

Carleen’s pop-up will host highlights from the Fall 2014 collection. In addition, there will be an exclusive version of her hit Utopia Sweatshirt, customized with the phrase “WEINER.” “Our shared obsession with historical ephemera and American manufacturing tradition made this event a no-brainer,” says Weiner of the partnership with Carleen.

Parkhouse has also exclusively created for this pop-up several one-of-a-kind outerwear pieces incorporating vintage quilts and textiles—a motif that has become a trademark of her three-year-old line. Weiner’s Brooklyn store will be the sole New York City retail outlet to showcase Parkhouse’s Fall 2014 collection!!

Designer Kelsy Carleen Parkhouse grew up in Long Beach, California. She later moved to NY where she competed a BFA in Fashion Design at Pratt. Afterwards, she founded Carleen, using the five looks from her thesis collection (which was built around quilts and vintage textiles) as the starting point for her line. In the mythology of the line, Carleen, like her ancestors, feels the “pull of the unknown and leaves home to experience new places; while simultaneously exploring craft, handiwork, and the meaning of the domestic space.”

Erica Weiner is of course being a gracious host in allowing the Carleen pop-up. After earning her degree in Art History at Vassar College, Erica Weiner toured the world as a theatrical wardrobe assistant and worked as a sample-maker in the New York City fashion industry, all the while making jewelry as a hobby. Her vintage-inspired earrings and necklaces caught on with friends and colleagues, and before long she had a her own business and a full-fledged cult following. She opened a store in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood in 2010, where she began selling antiques alongside her collection. A second retail location in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, followed in 2012.

Despite offering different products and price points, the two brands are so complementary—both have a focus on storytelling through their designs, and bring a touch of nostalgia and kitsch to modern, wearable products.

CARLEEN FRINGE WRAP SKIRT $482 SKY PAISLEY

Additional Pop-up Details:

Store hours: Wednesday – Saturday, 12 – 7; Sunday 12 – 6
Phone: (718) 855-2555
Email: store@ericaweiner.com

Some additional Carleen looks —

Kenley Collins — This Thriving Designer Marches On!

Posted on November 19, 2014 by SMM

The lovely Kenley Collins is a long-time friend of Fashion Nexus so I’m very pleased to continue to show my support of her outstanding work! So here I am now to feature her latest collection launch, “American Geisha.”

Fans a Blossom crop top & skirt, and Geisha Garden Party dress

First though, just as a quick recap, here is a brief bio on the insanely talented Kenley. She made a huge name for herself by appearing in 2008 on the hit competitive realty TV show, Project Runway, season 5. A few years later she made a stint on the 1st season of Project Runway All-Stars. Since then, she has been working diligently as a fashion designer, creating collections that not only I love, but that truly speak to the heart of any burgeoning fashionista. Her collections make me smile, touch my heart, and make me feel so nostalgic. She takes an inspiration and really makes it come to life. She’s gone “As if” with Clueless

said it’s Grease lightning with her Pink Ladies line

taken us back in true fashionable style with her Marilyn Monroe inspired collection

and gave us her take on PopArt!

Her current holiday collection is once again entitled “American Geisha.” This line has all the Kenley touches that I have come to know & love! As always, I can see Kenley’s unique designer POV & hand in each piece. Her amazing work is ever-present and more captivating than ever. Her work is vintage, an era of long ago, but as with any Kenley piece, there is still a modern vibe.

Hummingbird party dress & Cherry Blossom Fan Wiggle dress

Her looks are always playful and full of character, demonstrating a genuine spirit for whatever underlying inspiration she is creating from in her mind. She is doing again with these American Geisha pieces what she does so well — fully embodying a given concept and making it come to life in true Kenley form & fashion. She designs for the masses and it’s so hard to not instantly fall in love with every print, style, silhouette, and piece.

Land of the Rising Sun dress

As always, you can make this collection work for you in a dress or separates piece. Here are some more amazing pieces from the American Geisha line!!!

Birds a Humming crop top & pencil skirt, and Land a Rising crop top & pencil skirt

Geisha Garden Swing dress

Cherry Fan Mandarin dress

Hummingbird Mandarin dress on left

You can now shop online for these amazing pieces! And yes, there are still some fun menswear and accessories pieces to peruse as well!

You can also shop for Kenley at Slapback in Brooklyn. And check out Slapback’s owner having a great time in Collins’ American Geisha pieces!

Besides designing imaginative and stunning collections, Kenley has achieved other great feats as well. A huge success for Kenley is her custom design work for major pop star Ariana Grande. Since I’m obsessed with both Kenley & Ariana I have to share Kenley’s crazy cool pieces for Ari!

Most designers are generally pleased if a major celeb dons one or two of their pieces, but clearly Ariana loves her some Kenley originals just as Fashion Nexus loves to feature them! Until the next collection launch……eagerly awaiting…….can’t wait!

Joyce Pilarsky Transports Her Feminine Floral Aesthetic to the 60s!

Posted on October 21, 2014 by SMM

Fashion Week Brooklyn is now a time of the year I very much look forward to since I get to see old friends and familiar faces. One such example, seeing the highly talented designer and Fashion Nexus friend, Joyce Pilarsky! I met her last year and was instantly mesmerized by her couture, intricately crafted pieces. I wrote up a fun piece and I’ve enjoyed keeping in touch with this talented, lovely lady! So to keep my readers updated with her most current looks, here are the details for Pilarsky’s S/S 2015 presentation. Her underlying inspiration was a throwback to the 60s, very much keeping in line with FWB’s overall theme this season, “Design of the Times”.

Joyce’s S/S inspiration was the 60s, going back to mod silhouettes, specifically A-line dresses. But there certainly were modern touches and details, as well as Pilarksy signatures, embroidery, florals, feminine, and couture quality. This collection is also quite fitting for the Pilarsky woman — special, unique, confident, happy, exuding in a outgoing personality; she wants her client to look fabulous and gorgeous. These pieces will do just that!

Intricate detailed florals, whether embroidered or beaded, are true Pilarksy design signatures. So it worked perfectly that flowers were a main theme with this collection. I very much enjoyed seeing her delicate work with florals translated into this collection. And it works perfectly with the 60s vibe & inspiration. She has always been inspired by the grandeur of nature, who’s beauty is a feast to the eyes of the beholder.

Couture, very unique, luxe dresses are Pilarsky staples. But it was great seeing growth and development as Joyce included some different styles and silhouettes this go-round. There were a lot of separates. She has certainly made her fair share of divine scarves, but the jackets, IMPRESSIVE!

Keeping in line with something new to catch the eye, there was also a few pieces of menswear! The bright colors, detailed florals, and other PIlarsky signatures were conveyed quite nicely with the various menswear separates looks.

This is a very playful collection. Pilarsky wanted to bring back the olden days where color ruled and was not shied away from. And boy, there are some great colors seen in this collection – shimmery hot pink, bold teal, soft rose pink, stunning sunshine yellow, electric lime green, and more!

Additional details I saw that caught my were scalloped hems and lace-work. I am a huge fan of lace detailing. And I loved seeing Pilarksy’s use of this on-trend style. The references to the 60s were still present, but with up-to-date incorporated trends, the overall look being still quite modern. Sexy, sophisticated looks do not get much better than this!

This was also a very stylized collection. No detail goes unnoticed. The looks were well thought out, styled, from head to toe. Keeping in line with the great use of color, each dress piece was styled with bright colored tights, bold pink, bright yellow, or subtle lavender, just to name a few. Joyce not only designs detailed apparel, but also creates her own intricate jewelry. So many of the looks were further accessorized with her own varied jewelry creations – earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. I adore her jewelry pieces and so here are a couple of faves of my own personal collection, courtesy of the amazingly talented Joyce Pilarsky!

Joyce Peñas Pilarsky is a fashion designer, model, beauty queen, Classic Mrs. Asia International Global 2014, MWI International Ambassador 2013, Philippine’s Best Dressed and Style Icon 2013, book author, singer, painter and philanthropist. She is a veteran, designing dresses, gowns, and fashion accessories for over a decade. Fashion design is a passion for Joyce and she enjoys creating unique collections, as seen here.

And just as with previous showings, she represented the Philippines with beautiful bright colors and perfectly woven garments to a unanimous applause. Rave reviews have come in and I’m sure they will not halt anytime soon!

With each unique Pilarsky piece, there is just always so much that catches the eye. You can’t blink or you will overlook a stunning detail, whether it’s from her play with sheer floral embellishments, or the embroidered or beaded bright floral design-work.

As always, I can’t wait to see more from this visionary in the future!

Huge thanks to Vonecia Carswell for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post thru the sharing of some gorgeous images for these runway presentations. Vonecia is a multimedia journalist and photographer, from Florida, who has a passion for human interest stories. Over the past year Vonecia has also photographed Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, Jersey City Fashion Week, Small Boutique Fashion Week and Africa Fashion Week. Definitely check out this talented lady’s site above to learn more about her work!

Additional Event Details for Fashion Week Brooklyn

Executive Director – Abby Wallach
Creative Director/Producer – Rick Davy
Operations Director – Gregory Hutchinson
Media Director – Colleen Gwen Armstrong
Legal – Golding & Associates
Key Style Team – Erica Bradford & Christina Edwards
Models Casting Director – Jerry Jordan & John Thao
Beauty Team Coordinator – Tiffany Coates
Key Make-up – Kennetta Vaughn
Key Hair – Aisha Robley
House DJ – DJ Flyy Girl
Model Agency – BK Rebels

And just to also share, here is my own personal, unique, couture creation by Joyce!

Additional event sponsors & information –

Scent the Runway – creating luxurious scents for runways around the world, now you can expierience right at home
Klust Creative – Branding & Identity, Website Development, Internet Marketing & more.
Davelly Model Management – We are Fashion. We are Couture.
Hybrid Branding
Clique by Roble – The 1^st fragrance recipe by Chef Roble Ali
Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering — Set Director for FWB

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style — Fashion Director for FWB
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design — Graphic Artist/Designer, Eric Lucas of EM Design
Akaria Apparel
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Avitto Shoes NY
Bespoke Atelier
Solis Magazine
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions — Sound director for FWB
Levy Lighting NYC — Lighting director for FWB

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

More FWB Recaps – A Good Cause Amidst a Fashionable Affair

Posted on October 21, 2014 by SMM

Huge thanks to Shanise Gibson for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! Shanise Gibson is an aspiring freelance photographer born in Brooklyn, New York. Known for her constant love of being a “Free Spirit” & never passing by the word “Free” itself, she has taken in all knowledge given to her to soon make a name for herself in the world of photography.

FWB is of course a wonderful platform for emerging and independent designers to showcase their work. But it’s great that there was a way to combine fashion with a good cause amongst all of the ongoing runway presentations. More on that in a bit! But first up, let’s take a look at the exotic and vibrant S/S 2015 collection presented by John Guarnes.

Stunning looks for both men and women. Bold colors. Immaculate fits. Inspired looks. This and more is what John Guarnes put down the runway for FWB. Guarnes is known for elegance, simplicity and distinctive details. And this is exactly what came down the runway for FWB, showing evolution and development in his signatures.

Guarnes’ base was lace detailing, some scalloped hems and his work only grew from there. I enjoyed seeing his vision come across a vast array of styles & silhouettes – elegant eveningwear to bodycon dresses.

Guarnes’ vision for his label is to create clothes that are luxuriously wearable but with feminine simplicity. His touch is especially sophisticated and modern, striving to make fashion that is timeless in its elegance. The luxe fit and comfy, elegant looking fabric choices worked for both the gents and the ladies.

But what certainly stood out for me is that the black lace detailing really worked well with the dramatic pops of color Guarnes utilized – electric lime green, bright tangerine, and sizzlin’ hot pink.

Keeping in line with sexy, modern looks for the femme fatale, let’s check out Claire Henkel of Urban Sewn. Various heels & shoes for the looks were courtesy of Navalo Shoes.

Stretch mesh V-turtle neck top with stretch ponte skirt. Wrinkle-free, hassle-free.

Urban Sewn was founded in 2013 by Claire Henkel, based on the principles of timeless design, versatility, and luxury. Inspired by the lifestyle of the city girl who is always on the go, ready for whatever the day and night brings. AM to PM, city to city, all she has time for is an outfit that works. And because it works and makes her life easier, it is luxurious.

Silk georgette top with cut out details on sleeves. Stretch metallic skirt with fold detail

The looks are perfect for being on the go, very representative of the brand’s core vision. Urban Sewn embraces influences from different times and different places. They are inspired by old and new, unique and common, vintage to modern; ingredients of timeless design are the foundation of all of the pieces.

Classic silhouettes and styles create for pieces any woman would love to have as a part of her wardrobe because it’s a fave, but also because it will stand the test of the fashion times! These pieces definitely do that — fitted pencil skirts, sheer effects, wrap dresses, and more.

Blue stretch ponte top with handcut lace detail. Matching skirt with zipper and asymmetric hem.

All pieces start with hand drawn patterns then to a handmade garment. Each fabric is carefully hand selected for effortless style, comfort, and versatility. The brand’s mantra, wear confidence and effortless luxury with Urban Sewn. This makes perfect sense!

White raised pinstripe jacquard with sheer asymmetric peplum detail.

It’s easy to be confident in such sexy, luxurious, high quality looks. And it’s not an overtly or obvious form of sexiness, just very sensual, alluring looks with a feminine vibe.

Heavy Italian jersey with fringe detail at sleeves. Black & white stretch jacquard skirt.

The details in the collection are truly stunning, very eye-catching. There is leather detailing, a shoelace effect, fringe, draping, & more. These are very much pieces that are on trend, but done in a unique fashion, fitting for the Urban Sewn vision.

Ponte aroma with white lace detail. Asymmetric bottom hem.

There is a little pop of color and even a print, but most of the looks are in the staple, traditional black. A sea of black could be a bore, but not when done so phenomenally and with an intricate, very crafted hand.

Hand cutout scale detail with faux leather on mesh. Gathered faux leather detail on sleeves

Sexy, confident looks continue with Angel Rodriguez OMI’s presentation!

Designer OMI of SaiOne creates one of a kind apparel for both men & women who are unique &
appreciate clothes that showcase their individuality.

The show was well thought, attention paid to details from head to toe — the eyewear, the belts, jewelry, face masks, & more!

The aesthetic for this collection will tell a story of regal luxury & underground fetish. What helps to carry on this tale is the great use of color and bold prints.

The dramatic flare aides to how sexy and feminine these pieces are, looks certainly fitting for the daring, confident woman.

There is also a great interplay with softer silhouettes to that of stronger, tougher pieces, such as the hooded leather separates piece above.

Clearly an underlying concept for this final day of FWB was that of sexy, confident looks. Here is Bradley Douglas Jordan’s take on this concept with his 3rd showing at FWB!

Very daring, such dramatic flare are seen with these varied pieces, taking for example the stark white structured separates look above, and the fur bikini, complete with a floor-length vest.

And who says men are not able to take on looks that scream bold & confident. It was great to see Jordan’s translation to that of menswear. He also made use of a sky blue/grey print that was seen amongst looks for both women and men.

The looks were very understated in that of style, some simplistic minimalism, which is always nice to see. Not every designer has to use bells & whistles to get a concept or message across!

Denim was quite refreshing to see. It was perfectly in line with many other great touches seen throughout the collection, some swimwear, hooded garments, floor length vests, and more!

And now onto the charitable cause, certainly worthy of giving additional recognition — Goodbye Malaria. BK Style & FWB chose to support this deserving cause amidst the runway presentations. Goodbye Malaria is an initiative by African entrepreneurs with global partners who believe it’s time for Malaria elimination. In support of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM), Goodbye Malaria is a campaign that benefits The Global Fund by raising funds for Malaria elimination in Africa.

Various PJs, sleepwear are now up for sell to support the cause. The aim is to eliminate malaria beginning in Mozambique.

You can make purchases and show your support here.

LET’S ALL SAY GOOD-BYE MALARIA!!

Additional Event Details

Executive Director – Abby Wallach
Creative Director/Producer – Rick Davy
Operations Director – Gregory Hutchinson
Media Director – Colleen Gwen Armstrong
Legal – Golding & Associates
Key Style Team – Erica Bradford & Christina Edwards
Models Casting Director – Jerry Jordan & John Thao
Beauty Team Coordinator – Tiffany Coates
Key Make-up – Kennetta Vaughn
Key Hair – Aisha Robley
House DJ – DJ Flyy Girl
Model Agency – BK Rebels

Additional event sponsors & information –

Scent the Runway – creating luxurious scents for runways around the world, now you can expierience right at home
Klust Creative – Branding & Identity, Website Development, Internet Marketing & more.
Davelly Model Management – We are Fashion. We are Couture.
Hybrid Branding
Clique by Roble – The 1^st fragrance recipe by Chef Roble Ali
Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering — Set Director for FWB

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style — Fashion Director for FWB
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design — Graphic Artist/Designer, Eric Lucas of EM Design
Akaria Apparel
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Avitto Shoes NY
Bespoke Atelier
Solis Magazine
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions — Sound director for FWB
Levy Lighting NYC — Lighting director for FWB

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

Again, huge thanks to Shanise Gibson for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! She also enjoys snapping away at conventions, festivals, concerts & whatever else catches her eye.

FWB — Glam & Graphic Designer Presentations

Posted on October 14, 2014 by SMM

On this particular night of Fashion Week Brooklyn, Night 3, it was all about full on glamorous and graphic design pieces. The designers for sure presented across a wide spectrum. Let’s start by taking a look at a designer that sort of infused the glam/graphic combo — Claire Consigny.

This bright floral sheath dress above is the perfect look that encompasses this glam/graphic fusion. The glamorous side is all about the luxe, high quality vibe these pieces give off. There is such a great fit, a striking appeal. The graphic side is in the dynamics of the great prints seen throughout the collection.

Speaking of great prints, take for example this mainly maroon printed separates piece seen above. The collared blouse is certainly eye-catching with this print. What stands out even more is the combination of textures, a softer, lightweight blouse, paired with a skirt made of a velvet-like and leather fabric. The mixtures here are truly mesmerizing, creating a lot to take in, and definitely allowing the eye to wonder.

As mentioned above, these pieces are so well-made, high quality, such a great fit. Another detail I love with this collection is the ladylike collars, DIVINE! Consigny is known for comfortable RTW, sleek and stylish looks. And that is definitely what I’m seeing from all of these pieces.

It is great seeing a designer that pays such close attention to detail, and again making sure each ensemble is well-finished, leading to very sophisticated numbers.

Black & white numbers are another signature of Consignys’ and I’m very much intrigued by the infusion of the 2 colors in this printed blouse seen above.

These looks are very feminine and classic in style and silhouette. And I’m of course a huge fan of a piece that not only stands out from the front, but all angles, especially the back!

Moving now towards a more obvious glam, but very much still stunningly exquisite, let’s take a look at Isabella Milan’s SS 2015 runway presentation.

Milan is all about W-O-M-E-N in this collection. We were her inspiration! She wanted to create pieces that would empower women and give them confidence. And I do not know a single soul that wouldn’t feel super-confident, sexy, and glamorous in any of the looks that graced this runway.

“It has always been our belief that the women make our designs come to life. Without them our designs are just pieces of clothing on a hanger.” These are just a few words that Isabella uses to further describe this collection.

These gorgeous gowns are brimming with shimmer, sparkle, and many with a bold use of color. The deep purple or the vibrant turquoise, great choices! Another design element I enjoyed seeing was the use of sheer effects — love!

Additional thoughts from Milan on this presentation — “When a woman wears my design, she brings life into my piece. Women are beautiful on their own and I wanted to create pieces to compliment.”

I mentioned a great use of color above, but for me, you can also never go wrong with black and white.

Final thoughts from Milan on the runway show, “We created designs that would compliment the most beautiful features of a woman and we did not want to hide them but show them off!”

And these looks really are a exemplary as a celebration for women. Any woman who chose to so don any of these looks would be the belle of the ball, and certainly a contender for Best Dressed if on the red carpet. I’m happy I’ve been introduced to Isabella Milan and I look forward to seeing and hearing more from her in the future!

Taking a step away from glamorous gowns, let’s now switch it up to graphics prints and looks from Soka by Karen DeFreitas Fraser.

Ahhhh, the prints of this collection, fun, filled with humor and life, very dynamic! Karen on describing her relationship with fashion — “Experimentation, reinvention, versatility, colour, texture, shape, contrast, and composition are some of the words I would use to describe my relationship with fashion. The body is a vehicle for design, best described as a human canvas on which any mood, idea, belief could be interpreted. Each one of us, has a role to play in life, and mine is that of a designer. I plan to make an impact on our perception of ourselves and that of others through the media of clothing.”

Impact made! I love a designer who can take risks and is not afraid to go all out when creating.

Each look presented is filled with it’s own unique showing of a sexy, hip, bold, chic vibe. No look is the same, but are all integral to the collection’s story.

There is such a flare seen in these pieces. It’s streetwear mixed with looks any burgeoning fashionista would want in her wardrobe.

There is also no denying the great use of color in this collection, bright pops of tangerine, vibrants streaks of lime green, and even bursting strokes of sunshine yellow.

The looks are versatile and it’s great seeing so many separates. Lots of mixing & matching would work though for these pieces.

Continuing on with a graphic vibe, let’s see how Underground Marketing Clothing, from Ken Shep, translates his art for both menswear and women’s apparel.

Feeling a need to revolutionize RTW fashion to bold, beautiful, affordable statement pieces, Underground Market brings to you the “ EUROAMERICAN” fashion experience. Underground Market’s inspiration comes not only from personal experiences, but the dynamic combination of European fashion, culture & a love for designing for the new age.

There is such a high show quality, as well as design quality seen from Underground — color me IMPRESSED!! I’m also impressed by the brand’s simplistic and understated vision — to inspire people to get up and fight for their dreams daily. Very commendable!

Sometimes when a designer takes on both looks for women and men, one is usually a little lackluster. But not with Ken and certainly not with Underground. Looks for all are brimming with luster!

Wearing each of these pieces should serve as a reflection and reminder of where your state of mind should be focused & letting the people around you know to not “kill your vibe”. As you take your journey from going under to being above — additional words from Shep on describing his pieces and the brand.

Shep’s desire is to showcase art, passion, chaos, and sexiness in each collection while telling a story through his fashion shows about his personal experiences and thoughts. He says “I want to bring back the iconic feel and fun that fashion had in the 80’s and early 90’s!”

Ken has definitely done this with the brand’s presentation for S/S 2015, a job well done!

Additional Event Details

Executive Director – Abby Wallach
Creative Director/Producer – Rick Davy
Operations Director – Gregory Hutchinson
Media Director – Colleen Gwen Armstrong
Legal – Golding & Associates
Key Style Team – Erica Bradford & Christina Edwards

Models Casting Director – Jerry Jordan & John Thao
Beauty Team Coordinator – Tiffany Coates
Key Make-up – Kennetta Vaughn
Key Hair – Aisha Robley
House DJ – DJ Flyy Girl
Model Agency – BK Rebels

Additional event sponsors & information –

Scent the Runway – creating luxurious scents for runways around the world, now you can expierience right at home
Klust Creative – Branding & Identity, Website Development, Internet Marketing & more.
Davelly Model Management – We are Fashion. We are Couture.
Hybrid Branding
Clique by Roble – The 1^st fragrance recipe by Chef Roble Ali
Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering — Set Director for FWB

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style — Fashion Director for FWB
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design — Graphic Artist/Designer, Eric Lucas of EM Design
Akaria Apparel
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Avitto Shoes NY
Bespoke Atelier
Solis Magazine
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions — Sound director for FWB
Levy Lighting NYC — Lighting director for FWB

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

Again, huge thanks to Vonecia Carswell for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! Over the past year Vonecia has also photographed Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, Jersey City Fashion Week, Small Boutique Fashion Week and Africa Fashion Week. Definitely check out this talented lady’s site above to learn more about her work!

FWB, Night 1, Kicks off with a Bang!

Posted on October 9, 2014 by SMM

Huge thanks to Shanise Gibson for collaborating with Fashion Nexus on this post, and sharing her amazingly stunning images from FWB! Shanise Gibson is a aspiring freelance photographer born in Brooklyn, New York. Known her constant love of being a “Free Spirit” & never passing by the word “Free” it self, she has taken in all knowledge given to her to soon make a name for herself in the world of photography.

Night 1 for Fashion Week Brooklyn, simply put, there was no better way to kick off this multi-day event of runway shows! There was so much going on, so much to take in. You could not have walked away disappointed. This 1^st night was all about eco-fashion. The various looks were eco-friendly, highly innovative. There was a little something for everyone, the ladies, the gents, and even the kids! In fact, several designers were actually kids or teenagers. I will cover those young talents in a separate post, but for now let’s focus on some stunning pieces that graced the runway at Industry City, home of FWB! First up, a designer who is all about the volume, high fashion couture, Tom of Sohung Designs!

These pieces are highly original & one of a kind. They are hand-made right in NY! While creating some very fashionable pieces for women, he also puts out menswear looks too.

The pieces are certainly eye-catching. The play on volume & draping is effortlessly and elegantly done.

I love the balance and interplay between hard and soft elements. The end result is a strong, statement-making look.

This is a great showing for Sohung Designs. What’s been created here is stunningly unique. It’s quite fitting to grace the red carpet or formal affair.

Switching from high fashion looks of bold red carpet style, let’s check out some other great looks, but of a more understated nature – Lisbeth Lovbak Berg of Norway. The brand’s aesthetic is based on the idea of conceptual ecology and has a clear vision of slow fashion, with focus on high quality tailoring and an ecological and ethical message.

“One topic that reappears in my work is the question of how we see clothing. I find the link between the habitat and clothing, (habit, in French) particularly intriguing. Clothing is in in the most basic sense something to cover and protect us from the outside environment; this is the same basic quality as that of a house. Yet the durability that one associates with a house strongly contrasts the ephemeral aspects of clothing and fashion. ”

Berg makes use of a great print here – basic neutral solid backdrops with cranes. It’s utilized well across several styles and silhouettes, and is hand silk screen printed on organic cotton and bamboo.

“The CONSTRUCTION spring/summer collection is inspired by appearance as a construction, how we construct our image through clothing and how this image is only one piece in the puzzle that is who you are.”

Some of the pieces combine this subtle print with a tougher piece of outerwear, a denim embellished vest, use of recycled denim.

Berg’s use of color is also great here. There is a lot of white and neutrals in that of pale blue, but there is a great pop of color with that of soft peach. This is a great showing lovely, yet simplistically minimal.

Softer, more delicate presentations are great to watch and certainly can leave a lasting imprint. But sometimes the effect is a bit more in your face. With Repurposed/Reused, the looks are bold and dramatic. They knew how to put on a SHOW, drama & all!

There were looks for both women and men, basics in solids to louder pieces with dynamic prints.

This was a strong showing, very tough, hard looks that promoted strength and confidence from within the wearer.

The looks were all so well thought out, from head to toe. The styling was spot on and Repurposed didn’t disappoint.

There was so much versatility and lots to chose from, dresses to separates.

These varying streetwear looks for this S/S 2015 collection also have an underlying military inspiration, tribute to veterans.

Repurposed/Reused was clearly inspired and there were many other inspiration-filled collections for Night 1 of FWB, such as Iliana Quander, and her culturally inspired and diverse collection for S/S 2015.

Iliana’s looks are bold, statement-making, very unique, one-of-a-kind.

There are also very dynamic and eye-catching looks for the gents as well!

And topping off the “something for everyone” collection, Iliana also offers something for the youngins’! Must give props to this little tyke, she knew how to work the runway! And if I’m not mistaken, I think it was Iliana’s daughter??

This collection was so dynamic, very versatile. There was a great interplay with softer looks, such as with delicate flowers.

The softer side was juxtaposed nicely with stronger, more confident looks with that of structure and leather pieces. This was a stunning presentation, job well done!

Last up for this first post on FWB is Bridgett Artise for Born Again Vintage, with some truly modern twists on classic styles!

These pieces will for sure leave your mind to wonder! They are so amazing, stunningly eye-catching, with lots of intricacies to keep your attention!

Bridgett is all about being vintage, creating sustainable fashion. She pulls clothing from second-hand stores in order to deliver unique pieces, thus finding her passion with vintage!

As Bridgett perfectly describes, this is upcycling, not recycling! There is such a contemporary, hip, chic vibe to the various looks.

The looks are so cool, so different, any fashionista would be set in wearing any of these looks!

Additional Event Details

Executive Director – Abby Wallach
Creative Director/Producer – Rick Davy
Operations Director – Gregory Hutchinson
Media Director – Colleen Gwen Armstrong
Legal – Golding & Associates
Key Style Team – Erica Bradford & Christina Edwards
Models Casting Director – Jerry Jordan & John Thao
Beauty Team Coordinator – Tiffany Coates
Key Make-up – Kennetta Vaughn
Key Hair – Aisha Robley
House DJ – DJ Flyy Girl
Model Agency – BK Rebels

Additional event sponsors & information –

Scent the Runway – creating luxurious scents for runways around the world, now you can expierience right at home
Klust Creative – Branding & Identity, Website Development, Internet Marketing & more.
Davelly Model Management – We are Fashion. We are Couture.
Hybrid Branding
Clique by Roble – The 1^st fragrance recipe by Chef Roble Ali
Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering — Set Director for FWB

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style — Fashion Director for FWB
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design — Graphic Artist/Designer, Eric Lucas of EM Design
Akaria Apparel
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation
Avitto Shoes NY
Bespoke Atelier
Solis Magazine
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions — Sound director for FWB
Levy Lighting NYC — Lighting director for FWB

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

More on Fashion Week Brooklyn, The Intro Continues…

Posted on October 4, 2014 by SMM

So Fashion Week Brooklyn is already heating up, amazing looks are coming down the runway, the crowd is energized, and some stunning talent is coming to fruition. Full recaps are coming soon, but I want to do a little intro for the Day 3 & Day 4 designers presenting this weekend! So again, FWB is showcasing looks for S/S 2015, titled, ‘Designs of the Times’, with the venue being at Industry City.

Fashion Week Brooklyn is presented by the non-profit, BK Style Foundation. It is a full production event geared to market and promote emerging and established designers from around the world. FWB features men’s, women’s, children’s, eco-friendly, pet couture, accessory, RTW, bridal and couture collections.

So for Day 3, Oct. 4th, here is the lineup —

Band — The Craig Greenberg Band
- Dark Moon Apache
6 pm — Red Carpet, VIP seating
7 pm — Runway
Fundraiser reception until 11

Here is a bit of information on the designers presenting –\

Canine Couture by Anthony Rubio Designs

Doggywear, Pet Fashion Never Looked this Good!

Joyce Pilarsky

Philippines — Couture Womenswear — Can’t wait to see more amazing looks from this talented lady. I will be happy to don my own look from her & take in what she has to offer for S/S 2015. She also creates some magnificent jewelry pieces!

Underground Marketing Clothing — Ken Shep — USA

Isabella Milan — Barcelona, Spain;

Claire Consigny — France

Malanski — swimwear

Soka by Karen DeFreitas Fraser of St. Vincent

And finally, Oct. 5th, for the closing evening, Day 4, here is what you need to know —

Band — The Tryptics
- Nafsi Groove
3 pm — Red Carpet & Seating
4 pm — Runway
Fundraiser party 8 pm – 12 am

The designers presenting are —

John Guarnes

Womenswear, Philippines

Angel Rodriguez OMI — USA; womenswear

Cassie Kogler — USA, Womenswear

Bradley Douglas Jordan

Claire Henkel Urban Sewn — USA; womenswear

To purchase tickets and to see the entire show schedule please visit www.fashionweekbrooklyn.com

Additional event sponsors & information –

Luevo — an online platform that creates a direct channel between American and Canadian designers and shoppers announced a new partnership with FWB enabling guests the opportunity to reserve and shop new looks straight off the runway!

GoGo Squeez
yelp
Brooklyn Winery – locally crafted wine, eats, and private events
Alchemy Creamery
Creative Engineering

Splash PR Agency
Brooklyn Style, aka bk Style
Green Living – build a better planet
City Point
Orange Peel SL
Beautiful Stranger –– a vibrant community of lifestyle trendsetters sharing their personal style and insider secrets. Beautiful Stranger will provide visual content featuring fashion tastemakers and trendsetters attending the four-day FWB event and on the streets of Brooklyn. All in all, partnering with FWB to further engage its audience this season!

Fashion GPS
EM Design
Uber

New York Events – daily source for NY events
ae 56
TimeOut New York
Duggal
Brooklyn Brewery

Gotham Stages

NYC 2^nd Chance Rescue – established 2009
CrossFire Sound Productions
Levy Lighting NYC

Brooklyn Tourism
zico – pure premium coconut water

The amazing locale for FWB is once again, Industry City! Industry City is a 6-million square foot collection of historic warehouse structures situated on the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The complex’s owners – Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon, along with Cammeby’s International and FBE Limited – are actively updating the complex, its amenities and its systems while cultivating a diverse tenant mix that fuses today’s burgeoning innovation economy with traditional manufacturing and artisanal craft. This work is paving the way toward a vibrant and diverse community of forward-thinking companies that support good-paying jobs for workers across skill and experience levels. For more information, visit industrycity.com.

Creating that Perfect Look!!

Posted on August 20, 2014 by SMM

And for reference, here is one of mine that I consider the “Perfect Look”, where everything comes together!! Take a look at my thoughts on how I put it all together, creating this look and some amazing details about specific individuals who deserve some major recognition here!

So first, you have to look at the occasion, the event, where is it that you are going? For me, in this instance, I was attending NYLS’s annual Barrister’s Ball aka “law school prom”! The event was held in NYC — Battery Gardens. I knew I needed something more on the formal side, something very special for my last year in law school and my 1st time attending a ball. I prefer shopping for more of a special event at an actual store or boutique. Online shopping is fine for the everyday, but with a need of a more custom look, the computer is not my go-to. Luckily for this specific event, I knew I had a one-of-a-kind designer to literally help with the creation of my perfect look!

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Joyce Penas Pilarsky for JPP Daring Collections last year during Fashion Week, Fashion Week Brooklyn to be specific. Her spring collection runway presentation really caught my eye and it was even more of an honor to cover it for Fashion Nexus! Each of her looks to me represent being one-of-a-kind, unique, special, and so much more! Joyce was so very kind to offer to design and create for me a high-fashion, couture dress. I had a great time collaborating with Joyce on the look and I knew it would be just right for my event!

Joyce’s designs are all about the details, the embellishments, the intricate beading, the silhouettes. Her aesthetic is imaginative and sensual, creating sexy pieces of high fashion that showcase the art of being couture.

Check her page on Facebook for even more amazingly stunning examples!!

After you have your base for an overall look, and for me that is always the dress, the best place to start, it then becomes about the accessories. What I like to look at first is jewelry! You don’t want to over-accessorize, so I try to work towards that perfect balance. And so for this event, I knew I wanted at least 1 statement piece and mix it all in with some more understated pieces. Again, lucky for me, Joyce Pilarsky took part in providing the bold and statement making bracelet to really coordinate with this look!

Check out this custom, unique, Joyce Pilarsky bracelet — the intricacies, the details!

She also designed a statement necklace to go with the bracelet. It wasn’t needed for my overall look for my law school ball, but both pieces are very stunning, very worthy of some recognition!

Here is another great example of Joyce’s jewelry design work!

But for my overall look, I needed more than just the bracelet. However again, I knew I needed some more subtle pieces, yet still elegant!

Being that my hair was a chic up-do, I was very pleased to showcase my floral nOir jewelry studs. They were the perfect color, nude & brown mix, just the right amount of shine.

And to complete my jewelry selections, I chose a smaller diamond bow ring from American Eagle. It was just the right amount of needed sparkle to complete the jewelry I wanted for this look! Keeping with accessories, I also needed a clutch for the event. Sometimes a larger handbag might do, but for this event, a smaller clutch was the right call.

Francesca’s is a lovely boutique brand that not only has versatile apparel options, but a vast amount of accessories that can certainly provide a bit of luxe one might need for a more formal event. I was happy to have this mint green rectangular clutch on hand, courtesy of Francesca’s!

Accessories are not the last call for a look, sometimes it must extend to beauty. As you can see above, I created a bit of a fun nail regime for this look, rotating my nail color between Finger Paints color from Sally Beauty Supply, in gold, & butter LONDON in nude or yummy mummy!

Sometimes an event might call for more than an at-home do, a blow-out, special cut/color combo, etc. I have to say, as excited as I was about my couture look for the evening, I was equally as excited for my customized hair look — this bold, detailed up-do, all courtesy of Rosalinda Biddle! It took some time to create, but it was all well worth it! Rosalinda was so kind to collaborate with me on the concept. But what I loved about working with her was that I knew I could provide an idea and she could make it flourish!

Rosalinda is the hair stylist who can do it all — she can do elegant up-dos, she can create looks that are literally works of art!

She still works with more practical looks, but that will still scream high fashion, more than just your average everyday cut or blow-out!

She’s professional, and will do what she can to work with you and give you the look you want! If any of my Fashion Nexus readers would like the opportunity to work with such a talent, please contact me and I will make sure you are put in touch with Rosalinda!

So again, a few last details that complete my look and of course are always aspects of a look one should consider. Hair & nails are not all that say “beauty look”. For my make-up regime, I was so thankful for Revlon to create that perfect smoky eye, It Cosmetics to provide that needed shine, and Cover Girl, to create that perfect lip color shade!

And jewelry/handbags are not all that are needed for accessories. You of course need a shoe and for me, it was a dramatic heel, here courtesy of Lauren Conrad’s exclusive collection at Kohls. The blush pink was the perfect color to make this look pop! And finally, it was a bit nippy out so I wanted a little leg coverage and was very lucky to have some great go-to tights, my dark nude tights are xhilaration from Target.

So look complete, all aspect choices made. Sometimes you have those go-to wardrobe items that are right on hand. And if you don’t, maybe you have your go-to shops that you can easily visit. Giving time to make the choices you need always is an added benefit. Start with your base and work to coordinate from the bottom to the top. And with that, you can create your own PERFECT LOOK!

Fashion Nexus

A fashion blog for anything & everything fashion, including fashion law topics

Tag Archives: Brooklyn

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NYMD Round-Up

Carleen Pop-up at Erica Weiner’s Brooklyn Locale

Kenley Collins — This Thriving Designer Marches On!

Joyce Pilarsky Transports Her Feminine Floral Aesthetic to the 60s!

More FWB Recaps – A Good Cause Amidst a Fashionable Affair

FWB — Glam & Graphic Designer Presentations

FWB, Night 1, Kicks off with a Bang!

More on Fashion Week Brooklyn, The Intro Continues…

Creating that Perfect Look!!

A fashion blog for anything & everything fashion, including fashion law topics

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