Bibhu Mohapatra FW16
There comes a time in one’s career, hopefully, where he/she has a moment of clarity and understands exactly why they fell in love with their field. During this season’s New York Fashion Week FW16 season, that moment came at Bibhu Mohapatra’s runway show. Upon entering The Dock, Skylight at Moynihan Station, there was already a buzz in the air surrounding Bibhu’s show.
The Collection
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While talking to one of the PR reps, Fern Mallis walked by and we exchanged pleasantries. Then, turning to my left I noticed Steven Kolb (president and CEO of the CFDA) smiling and speaking to another colleague. The energy was building with each minute as people clamored in to scramble to their seats. (I want to thank the PR team for ensuring I had a front row view of the collection that was about to make me fall in love with fashion all over again.)
While sitting and looking through the run of show — reading the description of the pieces and trying to guess what could be the inspiration for this season — I noticed the show hands start removing tape from the sides of the plastic cover over the runway. This is the moment people start checking their cameras, prepping their note pads, making sure their pen’s ink is strong, and ensuring they have the best view of the show. Then — the last component that always makes me overflow with anticipation — the lights go completely black: it’s showtime!
This is the moment people start checking their cameras …
The moment the music started pumping through the speakers and the lights came up in perfect synchronicity with the first piece, I was thrilled: the most beautiful ebony and navy-pleated silk crêpe dress with self-harness tie; a lace top with a leather dragonfly choker and skin-graft hosiery; I knew it was time to forget about taking pictures and really experience this collection.
Thankfully, I managed to take some pictures for my memory, but for your viewing pleasure you will get the authenticity of each piece within the collection from the professional images. The collection’s cohesiveness was undeniable, but still showed so much depth in regard to texture and color palettes, incorporating everything from parkas to silver fox-lining to minks mixed with cocktail dresses.
As each piece continued to cement Bibhu’s rightful place among the greats, I found myself now mentally placing each piece on a certain type of woman, such as the fabled Upper East side businesswoman; the socialite; the chic mogul, etc. There were definitely enough amazing looks to complement multiple modes of dress and vibe within this single, singular collection.
My prediction is, Bibhu will have a very powerful Fall / Winter ’16, and we can expect to see a few of his pieces on the red carpet this season.
We can expect to see a few of his pieces on the red carpet this season.
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With love,
FWO
