FASHION BY THE RULES – Spring 2012 The Row – the Olsen’s

Well, the fashion train has started its journey for Spring 2012. The first stop is New York City, primarily at Lincoln Center. So if you are wondering why there are no hotel rooms or dinner reservations, or taxis, consider yourself informed. Fashion is in town!

See what will be filling your favorite shopping emporia; be it Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue or Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue.

There is some sort of odd feeling attached to saying that this collection by the Olson twins is quite wonderful. Being of that age when the twins were the most saccharine of TV stars and then cashing in at Wal-Mart, I am a bit ambivalent about saying that the collection, The Row, is quite beautiful, sophisticated and refined.

One can only say that these 2 have set their minds to casting a wider net to capture an adult audience based on their vision rather than the vision of them. In a way, I have a problem admitting that these freshmen designers offer one of the most original looking collections. Yes, the overall look is somewhat derivative, but then again what isn’t? What sets them apart are the flourishes they use, like the mini ruffles, the diminished color palette and staying within the vision of their collection. It is very much them!

My take on this is very simple – they get it! They have built a customer base and they stick to giving them what they want and not the whims of the season. Difficult as it is for me to say, BRAVO!

Headlines This Week 10/30

• Cutouts in the daring, Cushnie et Ochs sense may not be for everyone, but as you can see below, there are plenty of ways to try out this trend without baring the odd patch of skin or looking too much like an Erin Wasson hipster copycat. Elle.com
• On last night’s episode of America’s Next Top Model, Tyra Banks brought the girls to a sugarcane field in Hawaii. She decided to dress them up as bi-racial, which means blackface for some. “It’s going to suck to scrub it off later,” says one contestant. “I’ve always wondered what I’d look like as a different race,” enthuses another. NYMag.com
• Love it or hate it, you have to admit Marge Simpson has some serious mo-jo going on with her hair. And lately, the ladies in Hollywood have been taking note, like Debra Messing at an event in Beverly Hills, Katie Cassidy at the Hollywood Style. InStyle.com

• The past year or so of Lady Gaga dressing up like a self-important performance artist is finally paying off. The “Poker Face” singer is being given a fashion award. EOnline.com
• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen hit the road in New York City as they sell their new line, Olsenboye, out of an ice cream truck on Monday (October 27). JustJared.com

• Kate Moss makes anything look good, once again she’s featured in her own Topshop designs for her Christmas 2009 collection which launched today at Topshop stores and topshop.com. Nitrolicious.com

Headlines This Week 10/23

• The recession hasn’t killed the fashion industry, but it’s certainly crippled it. Fashion’s brightest future will only come with change, according to Ashley Olsen, Isaac Mizrahi, and Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan, who spoke last night at the 92nd Street Y talk “The Future of Fashion,” moderated by Glamour editor-in-chief Cindi Leive. NYMag.com

• Gucci has announced the launch of the Gucci App for iPhone and iPod touch, which is now available from the App Store. FashionIndie.com

• Does this mean we can expect to see pointy cone-bra corset styles at Target? Mark your fashion calendars: Jean Paul Gaultier is doing a cheap chic collection for Target arriving in stores March 7, 2010. People.com
• Vogue creative director Grace Coddington expressed her concern about the fashion industry’s attachment to very young, very thin — and many times anorexic — models, in a talk with ex–Men’s Vogue editor Jay Fielden at the New York Public Library last night. Popgloss.com
• With the wind of Marc Levin’s HBO documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, which aired Monday, at their backs, supporters of NYC’s shrinking Garment District gathered today at noon for a Save the Garment Center rally. There was a sizable turnout for the event at the corner of 39th Street and Seventh Avenue. Style.com

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