This story is a part of ABC News and Fashion Week Online’s partnership for NYFW FW16.
Chris Collie Interviewed at Naeem Khan NYFW Fall / Winter 2016
Interview by Charli James for ABC News
Q: I want to bring in a guest, he is editor-in-chief of Fashion Week Online, the website we’ve been partnering with. And he’s going to walk us through a few of the looks here. I’m not a fashion expert, but he is. So he’s going to give you a little more of an inside scoop into what makes these designs so special.
So first, thank you for having me; I just wanted to point out these pieces here. Naeem Khan is very known for his beautiful reds and his rich colors, and silhouettes with appliqués on dresses. And these pieces are a perfect example, because Naeem Khan comes from the era of mysterious and beautiful runway pieces. Naeem Khan’s specialty is mixing runway and red carpet.
Naeem Khan comes from the era of mysterious and beautiful runway pieces.
And when you interviewed him I’m sure he talked about his views: that he’s all about showing skin while still being elegant.
These pieces are meant for royalty. He wants all of his women to feel like they’re a queen or a princess when they’re wearing his pieces, and feel like they can come to the red carpet and “wow” anyone who comes their way.
He wants all of his women to feel like they’re a queen or a princess.
Q: I could definitely see this on the red carpet, the Oscars, Golden Globes, sometime in the future.
Absolutely.
Q: You mentioned the combination that he likes: modesty, but also showing skin. And you can see that in these pieces here, where there is the sheer paneling while the appliqués are still allowing for some things to be left to the imagination.
Exactly.
And also with his textures, he likes to mix hard with soft. You can see on these pieces: there’s still the delicate femininity of the sheer, but there’s also the hard appliqué of this fabric.
Naeem Khan specializes in the mixture of textures, and that’s where he’s been able to define his niche.
Q: We’re nearing the end of fashion week: there’s a day or two left. How do you see this fitting in with any themes of the fashion week this season in general?
This season I’ve seen a lot of color which is rare for winter pieces.
Usually winter pieces are charcoal grays; they’re blacks. They’re very toned down. But a lot of the designers have been going for the very colorful this winter, and breaking the mold.
And Naeem Khan is actually leading the way, because he’s been doing it for a few seasons.
A lot of the designers have been going for the very colorful for winter, and Naeem is leading the way
And this season I think he’s really putting his best foot forward and actually showing that you can have color in the winter and still be elegant, and still be a fashionista as well.
Q: So news for those fashionistas out there, you’re going to have to put away the blacks — as you can see there are a lot of women wearing black though. It still seems the fashion week “uniform” if you’re not on the red carpet. As a woman you should be wearing black because you can’t compete with this. There’s no way to compete with this.
Exactly.
Q: Thank you so much for talking with us and giving us a little insight into Naeem Khan’s designs, I really appreciate it.
I really appreciate it; thank you.
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FWO
