(Collections left to right: Jules Power, OR by angela chen, LOVAS Wesley Badanjak and Pink Tartan)
Jules Power was the first show of the day. The spring/summer collection is full of flowy tops, dresses as well as pants and jackets, with pieces which will take a woman from day until night. Despite the black and brown booties worn by the models, the clothes were all spring. With neutrals, oranges and turquoises, the pops of colour amid definitely cry warmer weather. The colourful headpieces were also of note. The collection is mostly all-sizes friendly, though the abundance of capris/cropped pants might not bode so well to those of us who lack height.
Formerly known as Orange, Angela Chen’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection is very beach-based with many of the dresses in the collection feeling more like beach coverings than regular day dresses. Not too figure-flattering, but it does hide parts that one might not want to show off. Of course, there are pieces which show off one”s shape too, including tops, skirts and pants. One issue, however, is that many of the pieces might not flatter people who do not have model-type figures (i.e. tall and slim). Another is that for a spring/summer collection, there is very little colour – a lot of black and white. Finally, some of the dresses didn’t seem to fit the models well – one of the final pieces, a long, strapless gown, almost became a wardrobe malfunction. The model had to pull the dress up to keep it from falling off!
Those who know me know that I’m a big fan of basic looking pieces. That is why I am absolutely IN LOVE with LOVAS Wesley Badanjak’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection, which is called Elemental. With charcoals, silvers and blacks mixed in with “citron” and “lipstick” (it’s really a version of pink – “lipstick” isn’t just one colour, but many!!), this collection definitely has something for every woman. Consisting of flowy gowns for a formal evening out, shorter dresses for more casual events as well s office-appropriate wear, this line definitely has the classic looks that will last several seasons. In addition, they are wearable, which is very important for many a modern woman. Fashion shouldn’t only be about the funk – you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, after all.
This show was very different and had something I hadn’t seen in a long time. For one, Pink Tartan’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection consists of much more colour than in the past, and secondly, the models did not come and go one at a time. Instead, they remained on the runway until each and every model had walked, standing on a platform towards the side of the runway. This was actually a good idea, as specators were able to see the entire collection at once. However, some may feel that it makes the runway look cluttered. With the theme of Disco Queen meets British School Girl, the collection consisted of jumpsuits, flare pants as well as brim hats, which resemble hats worn by boarding school students at many UK schools (there were elements of 80s Prime Time Soap Diva, too). As for the clothing itself, while some of the pant outfits and sleeveless tops may not be for everyone (there are quite a few pieces that people won’t be able to pull off unless they were tall and under a size 6), some of the jackets are definitely must-haves. Was there anything disappointing about the collection? Yes. If you’re short, then many of the pieces probably won’t work on you without complete reconstruction. It’s too bad that Pink Tartan doesn’t come in petite.
