La Di Da

Work today is soooooooo slooooooooooow. Torturous, really.
So I've done some sketching, reading, facebook stalking. Oh, and I checked out the last shows from NY Fashion Week on Style.com.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Isaac Mizrahi. The man lives in a sublime fantasy, and each season he dreams up clothes for some obscure woman in an obscure scenario. You know an Upper East Side housewife/Socialite, who absolutely has to wear a neon pink fur jumpsuit to walk her Bichon Frise down 5th Avenue. As luck would have it, these fantasy women live right here in New York City and shop at Bergdorf.

"OH, I just Love walking my bog in my pink fur jumpsuit!" (Illustration by Me)

For Fall 2010, Isaac sent us on a stroll down "Parka Avenue," with chic references to camping. An implied hi/ low mix showed up in details such as toggle closures and hardware, as well as a sleeping bag-esque jacket over a brocade skirt suit - appropriate for the "ladies-who-lunch" set, should they encounter a snowstorm in the East 70s.

But the camping references didn't catch my eye as much as the use of texture throughout. Isaac employed his signature blend of colorful, patterned, and textural cloths to give this collection a quirky vibrance and sense of humor.

Crystals applied to look like alligator hide!

Sequins? Beads? Whatever.....I love how that looks like shagreen.

Isaac is one of the few remaining designers who really seem to have fun with fashion (Jean Paul Gautier is there with him). His work is clever and unexpected, and whenever I see something like that shagreen gown, or his inside-out fur coat (I couldn't find a picture), I can't help but smile. Because his clothing is unfailingly chic and sophisticated as well, it makes perfect sense that his target demographic is a society woman - it is important for her to be dressed elegantly for whatever occasion, but in Isaac's clothes that job can feel like play. Oh the luxury of a woman who can claim "dressing" as a hobby.

This is just beautiful.

And this looks like so much fun to wear!

And not to beat a dead horse, but Mr. Mizrahi also adopted the dropped/cropped shoulder trend (that I mentioned HERE and HERE.

Oh, and.........

...So did Reem Acra.

I LOVE to say, "I told you so."