Cynthia Cheng Mintz

The 1970s ruled once again Thursday at the presentation of Son Jung Wan’s Fall/Winter 2011 collection.  This cool, winter-inspired collection had a colour palette of grey as well as mauve, lavendar and just a hint of  fall camel. 1970s-inspired wide-legged pants, long, flowing skirts and draping fabrics, as well as shine and glitter were also seen.  For men, the looks and colours were not too unusual, except for a pair of shiny purple pants, which really stood out for us.

Like many other designers, Son Jung Wan, made use of fur, which was seen on shoulders, arms and even legs.  What was good about the collection was that many of the looks could, when paired with the right pieces, work well on non-models (not too many of the fur pieces, for example, would make someone look like either a muffin or umbrella), with perhaps the exception of the wide-legged pants.  Unless the line comes in petites (which I am pretty sure does not), it would be very difficult to pull off the look as alterations would completely change the style of the pant (yes, I fully believe that short women can wear wide-legged pants.  They just have to be at a proper length).   Also noted were winter shorts and bubble skirts.

This show was Son Jung Wan’s New York Fashion Week debut.  Considering that this is her first show, it was not at all bad.  Most of the looks were fairly standard, in keeping with trends for the fall/winter season without too many surprises.  Colours stood out for us, however, since most designers were heading the fall direction rather than winter (Nanette Lepore was one of the few who were all about cooler shades).  Nonetheless, we are very much looking forward to future NYFW shows for this designer.