Joan Smalls and Liu Wen (Photos from Style.com)
Prabal Gurung has quickly become the darling designer of the New York fashion week and this runway show was highly anticipated. The dimly lit Pier 57 was a buzz with fashionistas and celebrities alike- everyone from Rachel Zoe, Elettra Wiedemann and the one and only Anna Dello Russo. Joan Smalls opened the show with a bang- pounding the concrete floors in an all white (or ‘porcelain’) ensemble. The white jacket dripped embellishment from the shoulders and a sheer deep V blouse contrasted her skin tone nicely. The cat-eyed vixen set the pace of the show- and it was fast and fierce. Liu Wen walked third in a porcelain dress with a silk chiffon veil that floated behind her. A glance at the girls’ faces confirmed that this collection would be much lighter that Gurung’s fall collection which featured heavy duty eyeliner and bright blue shadow from lid to brow. The makeup was clean with just a touch of silver shadow on their lids; hair was parted in the middle and had an undone look with just a natural wave. There was of course a touch of darkness with a black manicure that appeared to drip from the tip towards the cuticle- the custom nail art trend has been adopted by most designers and at this point does not seem to be dying down. While the collection showed many tailored suits in the exploding prints that Gurung has become known, many of the pieces seemed to float away from the body. Airiness was visible in veils, ostrich feathers, gorgeous ruffles and layers of chiffon. Many of the dresses had extreme scoop necks which exposed satin undergarments for an added sexiness. The frothy feathered dress worn by Hanne Gaby Odiele and the finale red feathered dress worn by closer Nastya Kusakina may cloud your perception of the collection as dressy but scroll back through and count the number of amazing ready-to-wear pieces. Gurung is one of the few high end designers who swears by shorts and always manages to make them look chic- we love the sweatshirts and shorts combo worn by Fei Fei in look 10. All in all this collection was well rounded and you can bet that you’ll be seeing many of these looks on editors, models and red carpet walkers over the coming months.
Hanne Gaby Odiele and Nastya Kusakina (Photos from Style.com)
