Were the Fashion Gods Listening?

Okay, so in making up for my mission to not post any reviews, I am going to articulate how elated I was with New York Fashion Week. To be honest, I sort of hold my judgments for fashion week until Milan and Paris have happened because NYFW hasn't been so strong, but this was one of the best seasons yet.
 
Phoebe Philo deserves the credit. Her S/S '10 collection for Celine captured the idea of "slow-fashion." Her reinstated designing presence in the industry definitely has caused a ripple effect that I'm excited to see unfold in the upcoming weeks.

Photo: www.style.com

Celine S/S '10

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding the death of trends, and how there is a void of focused and concise collections, well NYFW F/W '10, you did it. There is a definite shift this season-- designers strayed from tired trends such as body conscious dresses, jumpsuits, sky high hemlines, and athletic chic, and went back to classics and true creativity. I found the collections that were less effective this season were ones that were popular in seasons past due to the fact they were heavily trend driven rather than consisting of well made and executed pieces.

I hate to say it but, Alexander Wang was an example this season. In the past seasons, he has nailed down the athletic-grunge look and has made great impact on how people dress (those slouchy mens cutoffs you covet at Urban, thank Alex), but it was getting tired. His collections have been incredibly concept driven, which is not bad, but this season I find it's not about the trend or a look, rather finding pieces that can be timeless additions to one's closet. I'm not sure where chenille leg-warmers stand in that, but I know it's not a staple for me.


I also noticed a shift in attention from the celebrity of fashion week to the desire for well executed collections. Maybe it's just me, and that I don't pay attention to who is sitting in the front row, but I think the level of sophistication and effectiveness seen in the collections overshadowed our attention paid to celebrities.

I look forward to seeing how/if other designers will approach their collections with the same focus as NY's did, and if so, maybe I was onto something.