Fashion Week Hullabaloo, originally uploaded by David Cady
Here’s to part two of my NY Fashion Week series, featuring RTW Spring 2009 collections from Alexander Wang and United Bamboo. On another note, I find it rather amusing that the fashion industry has decided to adapt electoral imagery for its theme this year. In my own opinion, it’s just another effort to capitalize on the heated interest in this year’s rather interesting elections.
Alexander Wang
To be honest, I am not sure why I am so fascinated by Alexander Wang. Is it his urban knitwear? Is it the fact that he’s a Chinese-American kid who was born and raised in the SF Bay Area? Or is it the fact that at just he became the rising star of the fashion industry during his Sophomore year in collage? I don’t know…but this 24 year old, this guy has already established a name for himself in a rather cut-throat industry.
United Bamboo
Not sure if many people are aware of this, but United Bamboo shares its name with Taiwan’s largest triad society (i.e. gangsters, organized crime or what have you). Though it is doubtful that the two founders did this intentionally. Miho Aoki, a native of Japan, and Thuy Pham, a native of Vietnam, launched the label and lifestyle brand is a collaborative cultural project with downtown artists, curators and musicians.
Vote for fashion., originally uploaded by urzzz.
Nuj Novakhett
Nuj Novakhett (pronounced Newzj Nova-ket) is an up and coming designer hailing from Thailand. From what I have read, she got her start by secretly enrolling at Parson’s School of Design during her study abroad in the U.S., instead of completing the family-approved political science degree. You’ve got to admit, the girl’s got guts!
Nuj’s line first debuted in Spring 2006. This season, she created a rather unique presentation by displaying her collection on 4×4 girls on a white platform in a studio setting.
Jason Wu
Jason Wu is 25 year old Taiwanese-Canadian designer with a global perspective. Born in Taipei, he grew up in Vancouver where he learned to sew and make patterns. At the age of 14, he went to Tokyo where he studied sculpture and spent his senior year of high school in Paris, during which he decided to be a fashion designer.
Jason’s collection “celebrates” a women’s hourglass figure with a vintage style that’s classic and timeless. Looking through his RTW Spring 2009 collection, I can’t decide if he is pulling his inspiration from the 40s, 50s or 60s, but either way, I just love the look that he’s created this season.
Well doesn’t this just suck. The one Asian American designer, Jerry Tam of FORM, casted for Project Runway 5 was cut on the first episode. Granted, his “raincoat” made from a shower curtain was rather hideous….so I don’t blame the judges on that move.
Though overall, I must say that I was rather disappointed by what I saw. Correct me if I am wrong, but most of these designers were professionals (I was cooking at the same time, so I missed some of the designer’s bios). But despite the resumes, many of them went straight for the table cloths, trash bags and shower curtains….things that can pretty much pass as fabric. So already, I am not finding this cast as very creative. Hopefully as the season progresses, they will prove me wrong.
The best designs in my opinions were the dresses made of the plastic cups and paper towels. I wasn’t as crazy about the dress that won. But don’t take my word for it, judge for yourself.
Take a good look at that face. ‘Cause today, fashion designer, Giorgio Armani announced that Japanese/Taiwanese actor and model superstar, Takeshi Kaneshiro will be the new face of Emporio Armani’s 2008 autumn and winter marketing campaign. While Kaneshiro will be joining the ranks of David Beckham and Josh Hartnett, he is also making history as the first Asian model to ever front a global marketing campaign by the Italian label.
Legation Quarter, originally uploaded by stjohn88.
During the Qing Dynasty, Legation Quarter served as the U.S. embassy in China. Under Chairman Mao, it became the residence of the Dali Lama in the 1950s. Today, this cluster of colonial buildings with its lovely green patch of lawn is in negotiations being transformed into a luxury destination for Beijing’s wealthiest shoppers and diners. The development is billed as a “integrated lifestyle development project.”
The only problem, according to WWD.com, are the would-be luxury retailers and restaurants. Many of which are reluctant to commit to the location. Some industry experts speculate that this is because of Beijing’s shopping culture is geared towards malls. But others argue, that actually, the consumers with the spending power to buy luxury goods are only using the mall retailers as showrooms to view the latest products.
Only time will tell what will happen to this space, though I wonder if this outdoor mall setup is really viable in a location that’s known for its poor quality of air, dust and heat. But then again, the weather conditions in the photo shown above look rather pleasant.
Tweet, Tweet- dayseye: @blackcloset actually, i am not sure. i'll do some recon work and find out.... November 22, 2008
- dayseye: Fireworks show by the ferry building in SF. Anyone know why? November 22, 2008
- dayseye: Awaiting the arrival of the turkey today. After cooking all the frozen foods that I have in stock this week, it better fit in the freezer. November 21, 2008
