Roving Reporter : Avsh Alom Gur

I love him! 

Gur was the very first, 'real' fashion week show I ever saw and ever since then I was hooked. I have to admit though this season I was a bit bereft by the collection. This is the first Gur season where I didn't desperately want to buy the whole lot. 

But if you as me if I enjoyed it? . . . well Hell Yeh!

This collection was definitely meant to be tongue and cheek, an ironic poke at the 'economic crisis' and it's about time someone stopped skirting around the issue and just said, guess what?! We are all broke!

Confused?! Well, the most talked about pieces at Gur were those embellished in beautiful beaded 'credit crunch' phrases. I love the irony of blinging up the word, after all if you had no money, you would definitely not be so sparkly!

Every dress, even those beautifully made in chiffon and printed silks incorporated cartoon, Pop Art style slogans. 

Other influences for the more wearable pieces was 'Russian folk tradition'. Huge skirts embellished in crochet flowers. Autumnal tone, abstract nature prints also decorated skirts, blouses and silk wrap trenches.

Fav piece: Purple, knitted tube dress and black bodice/printed lilac skirted dress - I want these please!

Final thought : EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS SHOW!

Roving Reporter: Lyn Devon

Credit crunch, what credit crunch? Well that's what Parsons School of Design alum, Lyn Dereon, tried to convey in her collection. 

"In this economy I want to offer women something that makes them happy and shows that they are optimistic," said Devon. Although the beginning of the collection was full of bursts, and in some cases, top to toe colour, the reference to optimism was not as strong as we saw earlier from the Peter Som show. On the contrary, she does provide a well rounded escapist collection that scream both edgy credibility and stylish sophistication. 

Looking at the first few looks, you are forgiven for thinking that this is another young designer going down the fun, eclectic, ‘edgy’ route. It’s not until the collection develops that you realise how well rounded and sophisticated the collection really is. Its main success lies in its diversity. It caters for both sides of a woman; the side of us that likes to be experimental, slightly edgy and daring but also caters to a woman’s love of structure and simplicity.

The collection successful demonstrated all of the key staples that we expect from the fall shows but with an individual twist. Key pieces like the purple high wasted skirt were modernised by being teaming with wet look metallics, a key trend from last season. The presentation served us with all of the key wardrobe foundation pieces; the classic trouser suit, the perfect winter coat and the tailored trouser.

I have never been a fan of hounds tooth prints because it takes me back to horrible childhood memories. Let’s just say school photo day and my mum getting a bit happy in Gap kids. Need I say anymore? Despite my consequent phobia of anything hounds tooth, I think I am converted after seeing Devon’s structured strapless hounds tooth dress.

With trousers we were spoilt for choice. Devon explores both extremes, showing the much celebrated peg leg from last season, as well as my personal favourite wide leg in dark grey.

The silhouettes were classic and structured without lacking in creativity and flair. Despite the simplicity of the collection it exuded sophistication and marks Devon as a designer to watch.  

 

 

 

Roving Reporter: Peter Som

It’s fair to say that Peter Som has been going through a bad spell over the past few months. If falling out with the bosses at Bill Blass wasn’t enough, he also recently parted ways with his long term investor, Creative Design Studios. Okay, so maybe ‘bad spell’ is a bit of an understatement but Som put his woes aide this week, presenting a strong self-financed presentation and created a good start to New York Fashion Week.

Sitting front row of the shows last season you were more likely to hear about the world’s economy and a moan and groan or two about increasing energy bills, than the clothes on the catwalk or the gossip from last night’s event. Never have politics and the economic downturn been more apparent in fashion than right now. The buzz words on the mouths of all the top buyers are ‘investment pieces’. In lay man terms that means that it is not only us fashionstas that are feeling the pinch and a pull on the ol’ purse strings (if that makes you feel any better).

Even the wealthy are becoming extremely conscious to buy special unique pieces rather than simply being a slave to the trends. Already before the schedule has really kicked in, Som is presenting beautiful investment pieces making his stamp as a designer that is not disappearing any time soon. His experimentation with textiles and geometry on the dresses combined with bold prints and a bright colour palette showed a sign of optimism against the bleak backdrop of the economic downturn. It was definitely a refreshing break from fall’s usual colour palette of black, purple and dark green.

The collection interesting displayed what Largerfield refers to as ‘new luxury’. The presentation showcased beautiful fur teamed with stiff tweed skirts in rich tones presenting a refined luxury compared to what we’ve seen in previous seasons and a more grown up look than what we are used to from Som.

   

Luckily the collection didn’t completely lack the femininity that Som is known for. Stiff tweeds were juxtaposed with flirty feminine pussy blouses. The collection was true reflection of Som’s childhood growing up in San Francisco, known for its easy, relaxed sophistication.

At times, the bold colour clashes and prints were too much and the collection did not seem to develop the designer’s style or see him evolve his aesthetically but it definitely compounded on his roots of elegancy and femininity that’s had the fashion world hooked since his stellar debut in the tents in spring 2001. 

The beginning . . .

Is anyone else sick of hearing the term ‘credit crunch’?! And while hearing all the fashionistas moan about how they had to cut back on their Jimmy Choo consumption, does it ever strike you as strange that some fashion magazines suggest buying £3,000 cocktail rings instead of £12,000 brooches to 'downsize' during the recession?

Would you find it odd if someone bedazzled his own bald-head with diamantes for a fashion show? (Yes, this has happened.)

It makes us raise our eyebrows too, and with that we bring you ‘Fash Pack’: style, big names and beauty without losing touch with reality. Fash Pack is an informative fun, fashion and gossip filled site, that can see the ironic side of the fashionista’s world.

So who's in the pack? Well, allow me to introduce you . . .

Rivkie, a seasoned fashion journalist, loves nothing more than watching the magic of Fashion Week unfold. When not jotting down next season's trends, she can usually be found scouting around town as a personal shopper. She's ready to give anyone a wardrobe analysis and a quick spruce up! When not helping mere mortals transform themselves, Rivkie is often found sourcing and styling on shoots, or as a trained pattern cutter, knocking up her own inspirational originals!

Jill, our resident journalista, gets to grips with analyzing all the catwalk shows, ensuring she can pick out what you'll have in your wardrobe next season. With numerous articles published both in the UK and in her native USA, she definitely has her finger on the fashion pulse. Having fallen in love with British style, Jill is currently working on a book that will soon become the must-have handbook for any budding gossip girl.

But neither of these friendly fashion fiends could do it without me – Miss Terri. As you may guess from my title, I’ve chosen to stay anonymous for the time being. You never can be too careful in this business, and I’d rather not make any (more) enemies! After all, the fashion crowd are always bitching, and I wouldn't want to be frozen out. Having worked in fashion PR and journalism for a fairly long time, I’ve built up my contacts and have always fallen in line with my fashion-crowd friends. But the girls have convinced me that it’s only worth having the knowledge of the scene if you share it! So I will be keeping you up-to-date with all the juicy gossip, rumours and general industry bitching.

Here at Fash Pack, we appreciate the cut of a YSL smoking jacket and understand why it costs more than a knockoff from H&M. We know why designers choose tall, (reasonably) skinny models to show off their goods. But even we can admit when the industry we love goes a bit Twilight Zone.

We're fashion addicts, not fashion victims – and we hope you are too.