by Helen Chen

Tony Cohen’s Fall Winter 2010 collection was designed for the quintessential New York woman. Born in the Netherlands, designer Tony Cohen grew up around fashion; his grandmother sold vintage second-hand clothing and his father worked in women’s fashion for 35 years. It seems Cohen was always destined to become a designer.

Cohen’s collection featured luxurious silks, cashmere, lambskin, and wool. Draped and hand-pleated dresses, which are quickly becoming his signature, were done in shades of black, grey, and burgundy. This is a distinct contrast to the bright chartreuse and white from the designer’s spring collection. The looks were accented by a leather wrap belt and black leather booties.

While the first portion of the collection was predictable with head-to-toe black looks, Cohen later mixed it up by incorporating different textures, from leather to fur to stone.

By far the standout pieces of the collection were the accessories. Cohen’s embroidered sleeve-gloves and embroidered leggings elicited audible gasps from the audience. While mesh leggings may not be practical in New York’s bitter winter, they could be easily layered over other leg-wear. Cohen also showed well-cut wool coats and an asymmetrical leather jacket, providing hope that this trend can outlive its biker origins.

Cohen showed a solid collection, reinterpreting his aesthetic for fall/winter without compromising his signature draping. While it may not have been the most original or provoking collection, the pieces could be easily incorporated into one’s wardrobe. The clothes were just that—clothes. They weren’t trying to be something monumental and that, in a way, was more refreshing than the sky-high heels and crazy get-ups people have come to associate with fashion.

Designer Anthony Keegan and business partner Richard Christiansen chose yet another eccentric location to showcase the Commonwealth Utilities fall/winter 2010 menswear collection: the deteriorating lobby of a 1903 French Renaissance building on the corner of 28th Street and Broadway. With its peeled paint ceiling (some fell on the runway during the show) and exposed tangle of wires, the space felt like a ghost town, miles from the buzz and hype of fashion shows held at the tents at Bryant Park. Guests were served hot cider to stay warm pre-show as heating has yet to be installed in the building (which will become The NoMad Hotel in 2011).

Fleet Week was the inspiration for the collection, which was dominated by marine looks in a navy and grey palette. Not so subtle were the show’s opening and closing sweaters, emblazoned with “officer” and “gentlemen”, respectively. The rest of the show made up for these kitschy looks. Models boldly strutted down in skinny long-johns, the male version of the legging. These were a bit risqué yet quintessential of Keegan’s use of casual staples in dressed up collections. Blazers in distressed plaid, a perfectly cut black leather trench coat, and the tuxedo-stripe skinny jeans stood out as the sharpest pieces. Keegan knows his fans well as much of the audience wore a mix of casual and dressy. For the Columbia “gentlemen”, the collection is an inspiration for students who want to look spiffy in class wearing sweatpants – just add a blazer and scarf for some flair.

With its Moncler Grenoble Fall/Winter 2010 collection, famed skiwear brand Moncler launched a new line meant for the city as well as the slopes. As far as presentations go, this one can be rightly considered a spectacle. It featured 100 models on four layers of scaffolding at the Pier 59 Gold Club, neatly divided into groups by outfit. Throughout the presentation, bouncing spotlights hovered on different groups of models in time with the music.

The clothing was to be expected of Moncler, but it had a more striking, fashionable bent than the brand’s traditional skiwear. Indeed, while the collection incorporated the traditional shiny down material it’s known for, there were also slim-cut trousers and three-quarter zip pullovers for après ski, as well as an assortment of hats, gloves, boots, and winter shorts for men.

Women’s coats were markedly more inventive than usual. One resembled a 50s-style dress with a tightly cinched waistband and another was a modern-day shrunken fall jacket in puffer form. As for color, most pieces were rendered in a deep brown, with charcoal grey and standby black close behind.

Considering that the presentation took place outside on the chilly evening of St. Valentine, most models were lucky to be quite comfortable in Moncler’s sleeping bag-like coats. The coats retain human heat, making for a rather cozy experience. Some models, however, were solely in slim-fitting fleece gear and soon couldn’t stand the cold. They hurried off the scaffolding before a man could make the rounds handing out small hand heaters.

Despite that hindrance, the outdoors was a nicely thought-out setting for the brand, who prides itself on warmth. The shivering guests, including the fur-coat clad Carine Roitfeld, were presumably chilled into wanting to buy a Moncler to avoid future cold.

by Allison Malecha

Flashing lights and tent-shaking music signaled a raucous start to Custo Barcelona’s Fall Winter 2010 show. Fur and metallics were the name of the Custo Barcelona fashion game. As per the Spanish brand’s usual, color and pattern were in no short supply either.

For women, multiple hues and fabrics were incorporated into nearly every look. A black mini-dress with dark fuschia fur V’s going up the front and down the back and matching fur cap sleeves was somehow uber chic. Stand-outs were a peasant-sleeved dress hung with decidedly un-peasant rows of silver and black metal bells and a crimson long fur jacket cinched with a silver belt.

For men, classic suits were given crazy twists. The first suit was swirled from head-to-toe with black, pink, and brown. A later, “subdued” one was done in small silver quilts, and the final looks featured patches of patent leather. A completely white patent leather suit with almost plastic sheen worn over a cream sweater was at the same time tacky and fabulous.

Although the wearability of most of the collection was questionable, the innovation and overall exuberance was not.

Rather than emulate specific looks in the collection, Columbia students should incorporate its overall flavor into their wardrobes. Be not afraid of wildly vibrant patterns, especially in tights, which can then be toned down with a neutral top or dress. Guys can follow similar suit, although perhaps with patterned t-shirts instead of tights. The occasional bright suit jacket or scarf couldn’t hurt campus style either.

After viewing Simon Spurr’s Fall Winter 2010 collection, it should come as
no surprise that he was a 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award finalist. The young designer’s vision of menswear is strikingly unique. Spurr, an England native, has said that “you can take the boy out of England but you cannot take England out of the boy.” The collection could not prove to be any truer. His collection also suggests that Columbia men and their NYU rivals may finally have something in common. The collection, with its heavy English influence, was a merge between uptown men and downtown boys.

It was refreshing to see youth, edginess, and effortlessly cool hit the runway. From the opening look, a navy blazer and black pants, to the final look, a striking black toggle coat paired with slim pants, and everything in between, the collection paid homage to the modern man. Glove-fitting coats and jackets, bespoke suits, hand-finished leather, and slim pants flooded the runway, creating clean, sophisticated silhouettes.

Styling at the show suggests that the designer’s clothes are meant to be worn by men who understand that the value of working hard is just as important as kicking back and relaxing. Paired with a v-neck sweater, sneakers, and a beanie, a charcoal colored suit hugged the body yet moved softly. The clothing fit well and yet was breathable.

Men will find the perfect office look, either in the luxurious burgundy and navy striped double-breasted suit or in the black trimmed charcoal suit. Slim-fitting jeans in black, white, dark and light blue paired with burgundy or grey sweaters offer the perfect alternative for the sloppy sweats so many Columbians wear to class. As Babyshambles music played in the background, one could only imagine that even Pete Doherty would approve of a burgundy corduroy pant, black leather jacket with zipper detailing and a warm knitted scarf for a night in the City.

by Allison Malecha

After a prolonged wait and final admittance to the overstuffed Bryant Park salon, Rebecca Taylor Fall Winter 2010 proved to be a cop-out of a collection. Rather than pioneer new trends for 2010, the collection merely continued trends from fall/winter 2009 – suede over-the-knee boots, grey fedoras, and a circle scarf.
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