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.
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 1st 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
- Dream Team Media Group
- Industry City
- Li-Lac Chocolates, since 1923
- NYC 2nd 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!
