NYFW Fall 2015: When Inspiration Strikes
Carolina Herrera, Houghton, Pamella Roland and Badgley Mischka unveil distinctively inspired collections for Fall
From the LifeMinute Team
February 19, 2015
Carolina Herrera drew from the element of water for Fall 2015 and what a magnificently dark and stormy sea it was, with everything from shimmering cocktail dresses to long wool felt sheaths to dramatic ball gowns, patterned with silvery swirls of blue and gray.
The beauty motif also reflected the watery aesthetic, with Makeup Artist Diane Kendal explaining, "The girls are coming out of the water. We're applying false lashes with a little bit of silicone to make those droplets." And for the hair... "The hair is supposed to be really sleek and straight," adds Hair Stylist Orlando Pita.
Model Karlie Kloss, who walked in the show, had nothing but praise for Herrera. "She's the ultimate classic elegant woman," says Kloss, "She's so elegant."
Over at Houghton, there was a military vibe to the looks, of which Orange Is the New Black star Dascha Polanco -- a fan of Houghton designer Katharine Polk from Day One -- says, "[It] just makes me feel sexy and empowered."
Polk expounds upon her inspiration, "It was a little bit of a military influence. We have a mlange yarn that kind of looks like a camouflage when it comes together because it has like different colored yarns in it. So when you knit it together, it kind of develops like this camo look, which I think has become synonymous with Houghton."
As for Pamella Roland, the designer found the inspiration for her namesake collection in France, "The inspiration is early 70s Paris," she explains, "So, lots of great boots. Obviously there are great gowns, but there are some really great coats. You'll see our hair and makeup is Brigitte Bardot looks. Lots of great colors for Fall, too; you know, the plums and burgundies and golds and olives. And lots of great embellishments."
And at Badgley Mischka, the designing duo drew from another part of Europe, with a touch of Old Hollywood glamour, as Designer James Mischka explains, "We're kind of taking a Spanish theme this season, inspired by a movie called Blood and Sand: oxblood colors for a lot of our day clothes, and we turned the sand into gold."
The makeup, as Makeup Artist Tom Pecheux describes it, is "Spain meeting Amy Winehouse."
And perhaps it's that collision of otherwise discordant elements into an exciting new vision in each designer's collection that is what's most inspirational of all.