Pink Tartan:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have a love-hate relationship with this line, and have so for the past few seasons.  I love LOOKING at the outfits, but they tend to be very heavy and don’t work well on shorter women with very small frames – most pieces are next to impossible to alter without changing the shape and/or proportions (and sometimes, the pattern).  The Spring/Summer 2014 improved a little on that, but I will probably have to personally feel some of the pieces before deciding whether to even try it on!

David Dixon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mostly cocktail-appropriate looks, both matte and shimmery.  However, the entire collection was black and white!  Couldn’t there have been a little bit of colour, considering that it is for the warmer months?

Tatsuaki:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tatsuaki designer, Dan Liu made his home country debut this season.  The Spring/Summer collection was divided into two parts, with the first being all black, while the second was much more colourful.  The looks were light, sweet and feminine, with a touch of funk.  However, some of the more colourful pieces were a bit reminiscent of a little girl’s party dress – ones worn by kids before the late 80s.  At the same time, it was great to see the models smile!  This rarely happens anymore.

JNBY:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JNBY stands for “Just Naturally Be Yourself.”  Established in China almost 20 years ago, this line is, according to the Fashion Week calendar, based on “cross-cultural inspiration from art and architecture while being accented by innovative production techniques.” However, I am not sure how “spring/summer-like as the entire collection had a drab, olive tone to it.  Save for two bright green pieces, everything was dark and almost sad-looking.  The models’ make-up and hair styles only made it worse.  Perhaps they were over-emphasizing the “naturally” part of their motto?

Mélissa Nepton:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This collection was quite boho-focused, with many loose-fitting and longer looks.  I would probably not recommend most of the pieces in the collection for shorter, small-framed body types unless one is trying to achieve the “Olsen Twin” look!  The collection already had a spring/summer vibe to it, and the use of lighter shades was a definite plus.  The make-up was also quite interesting.

Sid Neigum:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sid  Neigum’s collectiton is full of blacks and whites, with hints of browns and reds.  As noted above, I’m not a big fan of the lack of colour focus for warmer weather seasons (the entire collection could have worked for fall/winter), but the looks definitely give a bit of a modern, funkier vibe with a little bit of traditionalism with its combination of sleek traditional suits and dresses as well as fringes and asymmetrical cuts.

Other shows on Day 2 included Laura Siegel, Travis Taddeo and the finalists for Mercedes-Benz Startup (post on this coming soon).

Image credits: Pink Tartan, David Dixon, Mélissa Nepton and Sid Neigum photos by Deborah Lawrence Photography.  Tatsuaki and JNBY photos by author