Since Cuba has become open to American travelers once again, the fashion world has been highly interested in the aesthetic of its culture and lifestyle. On colorful Spanish colonial streets dotted with old cars, Havana feels frozen in time.
Inspired by the high-energy and joyful nightlife of the Havana of the 1960s, Vivienne Pash brings simplicity and bold color to her SS17 collection. Her garments could easily transition from day to night, their blend of texture and print fun yet tasteful.
Her garments could easily transition from day to night.
Jumpsuits, long dresses, and shift dresses make up the bulk of her collection — perfect for those coming from the office, or on their way to the next party. Pash plays with asymmetrical structure, and adds unexpected texture on her otherwise simple pieces.
Ruffles, common on the runway this season, are added to a patterned strapless jumpsuit. Entire pieces are made of mesh or sequin, with some mesh paneling as well. A particularly mod piece oozes the ‘60s flair and fun, made entirely of sequin in a vibrant red with a swishing black piece … all the better to strut in.
Vivienne Pash SS17 is an ode to the past and, paradoxically, the future. With a nod to the stylish, simple, and joyful clothes of fifty years before — and to a country seemingly stuck in decades before — she unearths the old in anticipation of the new.
Desigual: NYFW’s most beloved Spanish brand launched Spring/Summer 2017’s line this past week. Here at Fashion Week Online, it’s one of our favorite shows to attend. From the vibrant colors to the upbeat music, we can’t help but dance in our seats.
The brand famous for their graceful mix of patterns and colors, comes back this season with a new twist on a classic image. This season, denim ruled the stage. The Barcelona brand enhances this classic fabric with vibrant patchwork floral patterns and lace details as a new approach for the label.
Although the approach was more muted than usual, the sense of fun was still evident in the Snapchat-style face filters, brought to life on the runway. And, as always, the execution of layered looks was masterful.
As always, the execution of layered looks was masterful.
Throughout the show, we still witnessed patterned materials, topped off with decadent earrings and headbands. However, the soft combinations of whites, light blues, and army greens reflected the ease of the warmer half of the year.
Our favorite looks of the show included the all-white ensemble that mixes lace, a denim jacket, and embellished capris. Patchwork jackets paired with maxi dresses created a highly elegant look that’s easy to pull off; we’ll be sure to copy that all of next spring.
The original attitude, paired with the softer looks from this season’s runway proves there’s a great evolution happening at Desigual. Here at FWO, we can’t wait for spring to show off these new pieces.
We’ve all seen the Upper East Side New York women: their hair and makeup unimaginably impeccable, their clothing so expensive and exclusive you wonder how anyone could possibly have that much money. You see them out with their equally glamorous friends; their lips pursed and manicured fingers tapping away on a martini glass.
You hate them — or at least, you really want to — but mainly because you’d like to live like them. We’ve hardly celebrated the art of being a socialite woman outside of making them comedic elements in TV or film, but Chiara Boni presented her SS17 collection for women who want to embody the class and elegance of those seemingly perfect women.
For women who want to embody the class and elegance of seemingly perfect women.
Made in her signature jersey, the collection was of navy, rose, aquamarine, and black hues with a spattering of sophisticated patterns. There was a marked interest in sleeves and a flower motif; some of the sleeves had more of a bell shape, or were similar to the petals of a bloom. Other pieces displayed flowers more heavy-handedly, in appliqué form on sleeves or bottoms of skirts.
The hair and makeup seemed to have been taken inspiration from the ’80s. Hair was frizzy, and as big as possible; a couple of models even brought a can of hairspray with them and sprayed it bountifully for the cameras. The makeup was simple, save for the glittering lips that reminded me of the gaudy glamour I loved as a child — “too much,” but in that way that’s just enough.
In many ways the inclusion of the ’80s vibe added another dimension to the collection. Chiara Boni La Petite Robe is well known for its elegant and timeless pieces, but that does not signify lack of an imagination. They fit in just as well with the past as with the present, and the future. They’re for natural makeup lovers or those who go all out. They go well with bountiful hair or slicked styles.
All Chiara Boni wants, is for you to realize your own glamour, in her designs.
Chiara Boni wants you to realize your own glamour.
Interview with Lini Kennedy at NEXT Artists Beauty Lounge at FTL Moda
Story with Carlos Martinez
Q: Tell us about your career, what you’ve been doing so far in New York as a model, and anything else.
I started modeling when I was 16.
Q:16!
Yeah, I started in Brazil really early. I started traveling to Europe, Paris, London, Milan, Barcelona. It’s my favorite city.
Q: I’ve never been but I’d love to go. So what are you doing for Fashion Week? Anything super special for New York?
Yeah, you know what? Now I’m doing Sherri Hill. I love this brand, I just started with them. So now I’m going to do this show for the first time. Actually, it’s the first time that I’m here in New York for Fashion Week!
I love Sherri Hill … I just started with them.
Q: Oh my God.
It’s my first time here, yeah.
Q: I’m so excited to hear that.
I’m so excited, too. It’s like a dream come true.
Being in New York is like a dream come true.
Q: So you’ve been living in New York now for how long?
I just moved here in February, I guess.
Q: February. Okay, so very, very new. That’s so exciting! It means you have so many things to do in New York. As a model, how do you feel the scene is different in New York versus in Brazil or in Europe?
It’s a bit different. I’m so excited because everything is really different. The scene, the jobs and everything. I’m very happy to be here.
Q: You have so much time to learn and grow, and I feel like New York is the perfect place to be in when you’re in fashion — but also when you just want to just learn about what’s happening in the world. Thank you so much for joining us Lini, we’re so excited to have you and can’t wait to see you in New York.
Interview with Zuzanna Bijoch at NEXT Artists Beauty Lounge at FTL Moda
We catch up with NEXT Model Zuzanna Bikoch to find out all about NYFW. Filled with fashion VIPS and some of the richest actors of all time, NYFW is the place to be. Read on to find out more about Zuzanna and what it’s like being a part of the action.
Story with Carlos Martinez
Q: You’re from Poland.
Yes!
Q: Which Fashion Week is this for you, what number?
This is actually number 9 or 10. Actually this is crazy. When I started, I was only like 15 years old. And everything was so new to me, and I didn’t know anything about designers and photographers. And here we are a couple of years later, and this is like my second family; all the people in fashion, they’re like my best friends, and it’s such a nice time to be here during Fashion Week.
This is like my second family.
Q: What’s it like to be in New York when it’s Fashion Week? For those of our viewers who aren’t here to really experience it, what can you say that it really like to be in New York during this time?
If I would use one word, I would say madness! It is absolutely madness: everybody is running around, everybody is late, everybody is calling each other, they don’t have service. It’s like madness.
But then, at the end of the day, you get to enjoy it and be with your friends, and party all together; and it’s like the most fashionable parties and art, and it’s fun. It’s colorful; it’s one kind of experience that I don’t think can be compared to anything else.
If I would use one word, I would say madness!
Q: You really can’t. So what shows are you walking in this season?
I will actually do New York and focus on the social, PR stuff; so attend a lot of events and then I’ll go to Paris for Paris Fashion Week.
Q: How exciting!
It is very exciting!
Q: So what’s it like to model here versus Poland? You were speaking earlier about wanting to support Polish designers.
It’s really important I think to remember where you came from, and support the country and the people that you grew up with.
So I’m always very happy to go back to Poland and work with Polish designers on different projects. Poland is still developing, it’s a very interesting place; it’s getting bigger and bigger, but it feels great to be able to introduce Polish designers and stylists to the world here.
I think it’s very inspiring to see the combination of the countries and how they can exchange ideas.
It’s really important I think to remember where you came from.
Q: Are you looking forward to any shows or presentations while you’re here?
Yeah, obviously there’s Alexander Wang; it’s always very exciting always to see what he’s going to come up with. Marc Jacobs, and I’m obsessed personally with Zimmermann. My closet is Zimmermann, always.
My closet is Zimmermann, always.!
Q: Thank you so much for taking your time out of your day.
Q: So I’m backstage at Mike Costello with Tyson Beckford. How are you?
I’m good, how are you?
Q: I’m so excited because Michael is such a good friend.
Me too. That’s why I’m doing it.
Q: Is it fun to do a show for your friend?
Yeah, because it’s like there are no expectations, and you’re living this.
Q: And he’s so talented.
I’m so respectful of him, his work. I feel like I want to make it great for him. So that’s pretty much why I’m here.
Q: And his mother is here, too.
Oh is she? I met his son yesterday.
Q: And the whole family.
You can’t consider somebody a friend until you’ve met their parents. If they’re still alive, and able to be there.
You can’t consider somebody a friend until you’ve met their parents.
Q: It’s true. Is this the only show you’re doing this week?
Yes. I like to be a part of Fashion Week. I like to go to shows of friends. I miss it. Sometimes I sit there and I’m like, “I want to get up and walk in the show.”
Q: Well, designers, word is out: he misses it!
I do miss it, but designers, I have to be inspired. Michael’s inspired me. So I’m going to do it. I might be fat, and old, but I’m going to do it.
Q: You’re not, as anyone can see! Thank you so much, we can’t wait to see you on the runway.
Q: My favorite designer, Michael Costello; my buddy. How are you?
So good to see you! It doesn’t feel like Fashion Week until you come.
Q: Well, of course I always bring in Fashion Week for everyone. So tell me about this collection.
It’s magical, really. There is magic in the “Midnight Botanical Garden Bash.”
magic in the midnight botanical garden bash …
You can sometimes get bashed for florals in the spring, as not innovative. But you know, this is a darker side of springtime. This is a darker woman who loves to get dirty in the garden. It’s like you’re seeing a flower bloom, and the garden bloom architecture in the dresses. We wanted to captivate you and grab your attention, so you see the story unfold like a flower.
This is a darker side of springtime.
Q: So does it go from dark to light?
It does. You know I always go back to black every — like Amy Winehouse.
So we start out in a really beautiful color. It’s like these beautiful plum, slightly pomegranate colors. It’s really juicy, really tasty. Makes you want to bite into it, the color is so beautiful. And then we see this explosion of beautiful prints and florals, and we have an incredible men’s look in the show, too. Tyson’s back; he’s returned to the runway.
Makes you want to bite into it.
Q: I saw you on Instagram with him.
Yeah, he’s my buddy, so we had our fitting the other night. And I literally had to cut the pants on his body. I was this close to his body hitting it.
Q: Oh, it’s rough.
Let me just tell you my job is difficult.
Q: I’m so proud of you because you opened your first Michael Costello store!
I did. 1538, North Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood, California.
Q: I mean this is huge news!
This is huge. This is such a big part of what I’ve been wanting to give back to everyone for so long.
Q: And such a new designer, wow.
We just never felt we were ready. But a really good friend of mine, Rosa, said to me, “When are you ever ready?” And I said “You know what? You just sparked the fire, and I’m going to do it. Let’s just do it.”
Q: People like Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani, they’re ready to wear your designs. So I think everyone else in the world is ready, for sure.
Yeah.
Q: Is the stuff we’re going to see today going to be in the store?
Yes.
Q: …and available online?
Give me about 7-10 business days and we’ll get it done.
Q: Wow. That’s amazing! And people get it online, too, after the show?
In September 2013, Diane von Furstenberg launched a video that made very little noise. The video — by a company called Clicktivated — was for DVF’s Spring ’14 “Oasis” collection.
(A non-clickable version is still available at the DVF Facebook. The clickable version is embedded below — as long it remains on the hosting server, anyway.)
Was this video the birth of “see now, buy now” shopping? Short answer: We don’t know. (Sorry for the letdown.) But it’s the earliest “big name” clickable / shoppable video we know of.
(And totally separate aside: before Karlie Kloss was DVF’s main girl, there was the insanely gorgeous Daria Werbowy. And if you want to see more of the NCompletelySFW shoot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, click here.)
Was this the birth of “See Now, Buy Now” shopping? Short answer: We don’t know.
The Insanely Beautiful DVF Girl Daria Werbowy (in what may have been fashion’s first large-scale “shoppable” video)
Each offers a different range of features: some are clickable. Some are not. Some are best on mobile; others on desktop.
Some are clickable. Some are not.
But why the sudden boom?
It all traces back to changes in fashion week itself. And that change can, in turn, be traced back to a pivotal moment in the world of fashion: the first prominent live-streaming videos of fashion week.
It can all be traced to the first big live-streaming video of fashion week.
And for that, you can thank London.
In February 2010, Clara Mercer, Marketing Director of the British Fashion Council, announced that they would launch the “first LFW Digital Schedule, live streaming the shows from Somerset House to the London Fashion Week site.” The move was pioneered by a digital broadcast agency called Streaming Tank.
In February 2010, London Fashion Week launched the world’s first “digital” schedule.
It’s worth mentioning that while London was rolling out a full schedule of live-streaming shows, Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein were hosting live streams of their own in New York. And it was around this time the “democratization of fashion” phrase started finding new life.
It was around this time the “democratization of fashion” phrase found new life.
Whereas this term was once applied to broader (but no less revolutionary topics) as the emergence of ready to wear, in 2009 it was live streams of previously inaccessible shows like Alexander McQueen that led writers to start applying the term to a new kind of revolution.
(Yes, in 2009 it was considered “revolutionary” for sites to be posting images of fashion shows almost immediately after each show! Now, of course, there are excellent sites like NowFashion who do nothing but.)
The Original 2009 NYFW Live Stream Schedule (click to enlarge)
By September 2010, New York was on board, in a big way. Although it was a smattering of the total schedule, the shift to fashion week as a consumer-facing proposition had begun.
Around this time, sites like our own FashionWeekOnline.com (then called LiveRunway.com), began hosting and organizing the live streams. (There were other excellent sites as well, such as CatWalkLive.TV and FirstComesFashion.com.)
By September 2010, New York was on board, in a big way.
In 2012, growth of the live streams was accelerated by partnerships like those between Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and Rightster.com. Rightster.com allowed third-party websites (including bloggers of every conceivable size and audience) to embed the live streams.
Not long after, came the backlash.
Many designers bemoaned the loss of the “exclusivity” element, and — in New York — the loss of the intimacy and camaraderie that were part of the shows at Bryant Park in the ’90s. While it’s easy to blame a sense of entitlement or snobbery, the fact is that the “Big 4” fashion weeks were created primarily as industry events designed for two groups: the press — whose job was to write about collections — and store buyers, who needed to be able to see the clothes in real life, and even touch the fabric, in order to place orders.
The recoil came in December 2013. Although the headlines generally exaggerated the situation, the fact is that a perceived “glut” of bloggers was indeed one of several complaints from designers. And as a result, IMG Worldwide (who ran “MB Fashion Week New York”) responded by limiting attendance.
As it turns out, the new push back toward exclusivity didn’t last long.
Which is where we are now.
Although “see now, buy now” shopping is nothing new, actually embracing fashion week — as something to directly reach the consumer — is. And it seems to have reached some sort of critical mass in 2016.
There are hold-outs, to be sure. A number of French fashion houses seem opposed to the idea. And they’ve found support in the Fédération Française de la Couture du Prêt-à-Porter des Couturiers et des Créateurs de Mode (a very long name for an organization, to be sure).
Video from Shoppable.eu
But with big brands like Tom Ford, Burberry, and Rebecca Minkoff on board, it’s becoming harder and harder to turn back the clock.
And if adding little clickable icons seems like only a small thing, in the grand scheme of things it’s not so small: because the attendant change to “in-season shows” affects the very structure of the fashion calendar itself.
The change affects the very structure of the fashion calendar itself.
No matter what happens, “see now, buy now” is what’s happening now.
And here at FWO — as always — we’re just happy to take you along for the ride.
Q: We’re backstage at Michael Costello with Michael’s secret weapon, Charlotte Welch, his stylist forever. How are you, Charlotte?
I’m so happy you’re here; you’re my favorite backstage host!
Q: This is my favorite show always.
Thank you, that’s a huge compliment.
Q: Tell me about the collection?
This collection took us a long time. We needed a year to come back to Fashion Week, and for this season we went for something really different. We tried to see some things that we don’t usually use, like flowers, and a botanical idea. So we visited some places in L.A. and in California, and really got inspired by the architecture of blooming. That’s kind of how this collection came up.
We were inspired by the architecture of blooming.
Q: When you step in[to the creative process], are there arguments, or is it an easy collaboration? I mean, Michael’s so sweet.
He’s so sweet but yeah, these are his babies. So when I come in, there are a lot of arguments, but at the end of the day we know that’s work, and we’re just trying to make each other better. So we definitely hammer it out with each other, especially when we get closer to showtime.
Q: And then preparing make-up — do you participate in that at all?
Absolutely! He really wants me to help bring the girls to life. We test a lot before the show, so we’re making sure we’re getting the right color palette, and that we’re communicating the right things.
Q: We can’t see what’s coming down the runway. And soon, I hear, there are going to be more Charlotte bags coming? Charlotte also designs the most beautiful bags.
Yes, next season I’ll have more bags. This collection took up so much time. But I’m going to get back into the drawing room as soon as this season is over.
Since Cuba has become open to American travelers once again, the fashion world has been highly interested in the aesthetic of its culture and lifestyle. On colorful Spanish colonial streets dotted with old cars, Havana feels frozen in time. 
