FREDERICK ANDERSON NYFW F/W20

"I love women and design clothing to enhance and empower individuality.   I believe fashion is your conversation with the world... If so then speak with an individual and authentic voice."

Frederick Anderson

Are you ready for Fall 2020 chic?

Empowering individuality is exactly what designer Frederick Anderson achieved with his FW20 NYFW collection - and a whole lot more. His use of juxtaposition made for a visually engaging and desirable collection. Anderson played with contrasting styles, looks and textiles. The delivery was attitude in its purest voice.

The uptown girl, in all her lace and tweed met her edgy, downtown self with sheers, hooded fur-lined coats, metallics and faux-hawks.

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HAKAN AKKAYA: “JUSTICE” COLLECTION NYFW FALL 2020

Photographer credits: Elvia Gobbo

Hakan Akkaya makes a strong statement of feminine strength and cultural melding for Fall/Winter 2020-2021.

 As the crowd looked on in amused awe, forty-five models made their way around the lengthy U-shaped runway at Pier 59, Stage C. It was, in a phrase, “a provocative feast for the fashionable-eyed observer.” The Istanbul based designer, now a fixture on the runways of NYFW, filled the cavernous, raw, black space to the brim with an audience dressed to impress, perfectly complementing the show-stopping looks that walked ON the runway.

 Akkaya stated his inspiration as “Amish Meets Punk”. The inspiration was clear throughout the collection from the first look to the last. Akkaya created a collection that reinterprets the iconic clothing of the Amish sect who, to this day, turn their backs to the Modern Age, while merging it with the attitude and detailing of the Punk Subculture. The cameras & phones went a-flutter when the key looks appeared (48 in total!). In his words, Hakan Akkaya says, “this season, my collection attracts all of the attention of femicide, justice, revolt and equality. Women who rock the runway – Women who rock the world!”

 The collection also strongly embraced the most note-worthy trend of recent fashion weeks –  androgyny. Many of Akkaya’s men wore dresses, skirts and tunic blouses while many of his women donned suiting and collared shirts, each referencing the garb traditionally found in the opposite genders’ closets, yet there was something different about the trend in the hands of a designer of Hakan Akkaya’s level of talent… the looks actually seemed like they have a chance of being worn as designed, unlike many others creating in this vein.

 Hardware also played a major role in defining the collection with garments pierced in a wide variety of places like caps of shoulder, up and down the legs and princess seams of jackets and dresses, as well as through the fingertips of the black latex gloves that completed nearly every look. The hardware was not strictly ornamental, but rather crossed the line to integrally function as part of the garment itself.

 As the finale walk-around commenced, the entire audience shrieked their approval, only to ramp it up even more when designer himself, Hakan Akkaya, appeared, nearly floating with pride as he blew kisses to his legions of fans, new & old alike, all the while wearing a black lace mask, which he tied onto his face during a stop on the runway. The crowd approved and Akkaya soaked up every single crack of applause and adoring shriek in a manner that is becoming his trademark.

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TICKETS ON SALE TO THE 26TH ANNIVERSARY OF JEFFREY FASHION CARES ATLANTA

Photos by Ben Rose

Jeffrey Fashion Cares Atlanta is set to celebrate 26 stylish years on Monday, August 27, 2018 at 7 p.m. and individual tickets go on sale Monday, July 16, 2018 at jeffreyfashioncares.com. Considered the official kick-off to fall social season, the annual philanthropic fête founded by acclaimed retailer and arbiter of style, Jeffrey Kalinsky, will return to Phipps Plaza for an unforgettable evening that kicks off with a cocktail reception and dynamic silent auction followed by a high-energy live auction.  The evening’s pièce de résistance, a runway show featuring Kalnisky’s style selections from high-end designers, once again promises to dazzle with looks from Celine, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Dries Van Noten, Sacai, Saint Laurent Paris, Balenciaga, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik.  The 2018 event will benefit Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta, the Atlanta AIDS Fund (AAF), and the Medical University of South Carolina.

The annual social affair will once again be co-chaired by Lila Hertz, Jeffrey McQuithy and Louise Sams who will continue their mission to raise as much funds and awareness for the event’s beneficiaries as possible.  Selling out year after year, guests will slip into a completely transformed and private environment in the Monarch Court at the recently renovated Phipps Plaza located in the heart of Buckhead.  Last year’s event raised over $750,000 for the organizations, and in its history, Jeffrey Fashion Cares has grown into one of the largest combined AIDS and breast cancer benefits in the country. Sponsor and patron packages are currently available. A limited number of single seat tickets will be on sale beginning July 16, 2018.  For more information, visit jeffreyfashioncares.com.   

Jeffrey Fashion Cares will be held at Phipps Plaza at 3500 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, GA 30326. Tickets and Patron and Sponsor Packages are available starting at $500 for reserved seating via www.jeffreyfashioncares.com. 

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Yeohlee Fall 2018 Ready-To-Wear NYFW

"While many of the pieces followed the label's expected mannish silhouettes, the feminine looks were the most exquisite by far, such as the satin numbers." Vogue

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Designer Kenya Freeman of Sylvia Mollie "Makes it Work" on Project Runway

Kenya Freeman, photo: Project Runway

She keeps two notebooks by her bed. As thoughts and ideas make their way into her dreams, she awakes, rolls over to jot them down and goes back to sleep – and possibly dream some more. By morning, as the alarm clock goes off and sleepy eyes open, she glances in her notebook and inspiration is born. Designer Kenya Freeman, of the label Sylvia Mollie, is literally living her dream. Kenya seeks inspiration from everything and everyone. If it’s not coming in her dreams then she finds it in nature, in her surroundings and on the street. Her mind is always wandering and conceptualizing.

Kenya didn’t know she was a designer right away. In the twelfth grade, she signed up for a fashion co-op class where she learned to create mood boards and studied merchandising. This came to Kenya with such ease that her mother enrolled her in fashion school. In her first year in college, she started sewing, watching her designs transform from sketches to garments. Everything felt so effortless. For the first time, Kenya felt like she had been given a gift. She felt like a designer. There is a lot to be said about a mother’s intuition.

Photos by Prince Williams/ATLpics.net courtesy of Ragtrade Atlanta.

Strong lines and architectural patterns are things Kenya embraces in her designs and textile choices. Other elements such as shape and texture – the feel and touch of fabric is very important to her – also play a part in the DNA makeup of the brand. Her aesthetic comes from the allure of the classic woman. So who is the Sylvia Mollie “woman?” Well, firstly, she has a name, Kenya calls her “Tony.” “This is a powerhouse of a woman whose classic looks must transition to evening. Everything she wears has to be bold, beautiful and make a statement,” adds Kenya. Flowing fabric and a feminine sensibility, with a conscious attention to silhouette, perfectly balance the brand’s timeless yet modern approach. Strength and femininity are harmoniously woven together within the Sylvia Mollie collections.

So while Kenya Freeman may be living her designer dreams, it is also fair to say that her future is now – and it’s unfolding on national television for the whole world to see. Her personal life and professional career was uprooted, tested and turned upside down – in the name of fashion– when she was selected as a cast member to the Emmy Award winning Project Runway on Lifetime TV. Kenya is featured on the sixteenth season of Project Runway and said this was the best experience ever. She believes that being on the show will elevate the Sylvia Mollie brand to the next level from the tremendous exposure she receives week after week and though it wasn’t always easy being on the show and working under so much pressure, she absolutely “made it work!” Speaking of “making it work” Tim Gunn is wonderful according to Kenya, going on to say that the warm and nurturing gentleman you see on tv is consistent off air as well. Of course, she was tight-lipped about Project Runway specifics, not able to discuss how far she got in the show or who were the celebrity judges. She wouldn’t even drop hints. This is how Kenya described her Project Runway experience: “It was so many things – it was great, it was emotionally draining, it was fantastic, it was exciting and stressful, I’ve never absorbed so much caffeine, I’ve never gotten up so early - it was a lot of things. A very unique experience like no other and just to say that I am now a part of the Project Runway family at this point is something few can say.”

Kenya Freeman and her label Sylvia Mollie may very well be on their way to designer stardom and making its way to a closet near you. Kenya aspires to see her brand carried in the high end markets such as Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf’s but for now, the most accessible place to shop Sylvia Mollie is online at http://www.sylviamollie.com/

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Style Fashion Week Modernizes NYFW with Move from Iconic Madison Square Garden to The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

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Style Fashion Week will be making the move to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum to host its Fashion Week Events this season in New York City, September 7th, 8th and 9th. The international Fashion Week producer has previously hosted its Fashion Week events in other iconic locations such as Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Ballroom, and Gotham Hall.

The highly produced shows of Style Fashion Week have been touted as the ‘Must Attend’ events at Fashion Week.  With consistent media impressions averaging several billion per season as well as the sold out and celebrity presence at each event. This season, after the venue just being publicly announced, has already garnered an unprecedented media attention and is clearly going to create the New York Fashion Week experience for both industry and consumers that the world has been missing for quite some time. Designers are also enabled to sell their products to industry and consumers directly off the runway through an app that Style Fashion week has developed. The roster of designers showing this season is truly inspired and speaks to the current attitudes and trends that are prevalent in the womens, mens, and kids fashion industries. 

"International sensations MALAN BRETON, DAVID TUPAZ, RICHARD HALLMARQ and MARCO MARCO and many more support our international industry initiatives.  Style Fashion Week presents designers from the United States, Asia, Mexico, Europe and other foreign creative cultures, the roster of talent is unsurpassed and it is our honor as a platform for exposure, to present their newest collections exclusively to the world stage," reports Style Fashion Week.

Photos courtesy Style Fashion Week

Sourcing of the world most talented, designers, artists and creatives is one of the missions of Style Fashion Week.  Style Fashion Week has a global presence that supports the seasoned as well as the emerging designer and artist and, to that end, creating a creative collaborative this industry has never seen. As an addendum to our already successful fashion week event productions in so many markets, Style Fashion Week is finalizing plans to create artist collaborative communes in the United States and Internationally for the purpose of further reaching out to and supporting the creative vision of those who may not otherwise have such an opportunity to grow in their craft.

Style Fashion Week on board the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum is a landmark series of events that promise to inspire and create a spirit of all encompassing creativity and forward motion in brand development for all involved. This trifecta of fashion art and music is designed to cater to both consumers and industry professionals and, most surely, will set the stage for a grand, interactive and dynamic experience.  

Style Fashion Week is the premier producer of Fashion Week events in many markets including New York, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami, Hamptons, and Dubai with many new markets launching internationally in 2018.

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Where to Find Fashion Inspiration Like a Designer

Fashion, like any art form, requires a constantly evolving flow of inspiration and innovation to stay fresh. Designers are always citing unique life experiences, interesting cultures, a point in history or even natural elements as their sources of inspiration. You can find inspiration for your wardrobe in every aspect of life. Instead of simply wearing what you are told to by a magazine or television ad, find your own fashion inspiration to create a unique look that is personal to you through sources like those that designers themselves use.

Nature

Fashion designers have been turning to natural elements of every kind to influence their work for a long time. Many designers even mix natural elements with synthetics. However, there are many different ways to use nature in fashion design. A new trend is eco-friendly designs, actually using the inspiration from nature to protect it. Mother Nature Network featured some of the designers who are using environmentally friendly materials and production. Some eco-designers, such as John Patrick Organic and Costello Tagliapietra have even gained mainstream praise for their smart and chic designs.

Stage and Screen

It’s no secret that stage and film productions are always one of the first places to showcase unique style and design. Both designers and fashion followers have taken influence from movies and plays, and vice versa. The recent Broadway production of “An American in Paris” received acclaim for its impeccable costume design taken from vintage Christian Dior collections. Another example of fashion meets theater is the revival of 1960s fashion that has been sparked by television shows like “Mad Men” and Broadway performances like “Jersey Boys,” as The Chic Spy points out.

Travel

According to FindFashion.com, travel is a common source of inspiration for many designers. Exploring the world, or even just a town you’ve never been to, enables you to experience another culture, a new style and a different way of life that can influence your own unique looks. For example, designer Sonia Rykiel credits a classic U.S. road trip as inspiration for some of her work. Alan Bedwell traveled around looking at architecture, especially that of Frank Lloyd Wright, to motivate his sleek designs. Mimi Plange said she went back to her birthplace of Ghana to draw inspiration from the culture of her own past. No matter where you go, there will be something new to spark an idea.

History

When all else fails, look to the fashion favorites of the past. You can put a modern twist on a classic look to make something entirely new and impressive. Last year’s Paris Fashion Week was awestruck by Dame Vivienne Westwood’s 17th century-inspired collection.

The jewels, lace and intricate design were classically presented, while the shimmery colors and fresh textiles gave a bright modern look that was romantic and edgy at the same time.

Westwood isn’t the only designer to mix decades, either. Boston.com featured a look by designer Charlotte Ronson who blended a World War II-era bomber jacket with an art-deco skirt reminiscent of the 1970s or '80s. Celebrating iconic fashion looks from all decades is always in style.

 

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