Dear Pennies & Pens,
It’s Pen here to continue New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 coverage with the GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion 2012 show. The GenArt New Faces show took place on Sunday, September 9th at Pier 57. For those that don’t know, GenArt is a national organization dedicated to showcasing and elevating emerging talent in film, fashion, music and visual arts. GenArt hosts an array of signature events including the GenArt Film Festival, Summer Screening Series, and Fresh Faces in Fashion. GenArt has a 16-year history cultivating an extensive following of loyal consumers who view them as arbiters of emerging talent.
Having said that, I was super excited to see the designers showcasing at the Fresh Faces in Fashion event. The event started off on a high note with Tika Sumpter of CW’s “Gossip Girl” and the film “Sparkle” acting as the evening’s hostess. This year’s lineup included Spring 2013 collections from women’s and men’s ready-to-wear designers Anne Sofie Madsen, Amanda Lew Kee, Chloe Comme Parris, COMEFORBREAKFAST, Gretchen Jones and A-morir. Fresh Faces 2012 will also featured designer Katungulu Mwendwa from Kenya selected from this year’s GenArt Global program which launched in May. The standout collections from this show came from Anne Sofie Madsen, COMEFORBREAKFAST, and Katungulu Mwendwa.
Anne Sofie Madsen hails from Denmark where she studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Design. Anne Sofie Madsen trained under John Galliano for Dior in Paris and worked for acclaimed trend forecasters Peclers, before moving to London to work for Alexander McQueen as Junior Designer. With an impressive resume Anne Sofie Madsen debuted her SS12 capsule collection during Copenhagen Fashion Week in August 2011 which was described by American Vogue as being “(…) an impressive runway debut for a designer whose work experiences chez Galliano and McQueen haveclearly paid dividends.” – Hamish Bowles, American Vogue
For Spring/Summer 2013, Anne showed a collection that was futuristic, unique, and refreshing. The color palette was simple with black, grey, pink, and white. My favorite dress was sheer nude with pink detailing that made it look an updated (and chic) skeleton dress. There was also a grey hooded jacket with a light pink and grey skirt that was lovely. There was also a dope dress with what looks like a forest warrior queen on the front. Overall, this show was a little edgy, a little tomboy, and it was so 3008. In essence, Anne Sofie Madsen represents the future so please be on the look out. And check out Anne’s site here: www.annesofiemadsen.com
COMEFORBREAKFAST is an independent label created in 2009 by Antonio Romano and Francesco Alagna. Romano is the fashion designer, having graduated from Polimoda in Florence, giving the brand its true spirit and creating the original prints that, since the beginning, profoundly defined the main features of the brand. Alagna, on the other hand, after a degree in Industrial Design and a Master in Fashion Buying at Marangoni in Milan, started collaborating with prime international companies to get the needed skillsto develop the brand on a commercial level. From the debut collection, the design of each garment has steadily evolved until growing intoa full look. Comeforbreakfast esthetic codes translate into a minimalist and apparently simple mood: in every item the research is tireless, aimed to reach a contemporary modern fit, through a delicate balance among fabrics, shapes and details into a new concept of Made in Italy.
COMEFORBREAKFAST’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection was minimalist chic! There was this oversized dress with a long trench coat, a short nude and grey dress, a cool menswear look that included a white jacket (the tailoring was awesome) blue printed shirt, and white shorts, as well as a grey hooded jacket and blue dress, another menswear look that gave you a better view of the print that was paired with a longer jacket. I really enjoyed this collection and I think it definitely giving a new point of view to Italian fashion. Check out COMEFORBREAKFAST here: www.comeforbreakfast.it
Last but not least, I’ll be reviewing Katungulu Mwendwa. Katungulu Mwendwa is a young, enthusiastic, upcoming fashion designer born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. Taking fashion as wearable art, her passion for design enables her to incorporate other art forms that she loves, such as music, writing, handcrafts, and drawing in the development of garments. The design approach she adopts is an extension of her eclectic personality as inspired by what she experiences on a day to day basis; be it a news headline or a building she walked by. Ultimately, her deep seated inspiration comes from those traditional cultures, both in Kenya as well the rest of Africa, that are barely touched by modernity. She combines these experiences and inspiration to create an unusual mix that is new and exciting. While she holds that fashion should be practical, she is keen to push the boundaries by experimenting with materials, silhouettes and shapes.
For Spring/Summer 2013, Katungulu Mwendwa showed a simple color palette using mustard yellow, light green, white, and black. One of my favorite pieces was a mustard yellow dress with a green wrap around shawl, a sheer black dress with darker fabric in the middle, and an oversized black dress. The collection was simple, chic, earthy, and very wearable. I can see and appreciate the African influences but I’m excited to announce that the collection could be worn by any ethnicity.
Overall, GenArt Fresh Faces in Fashion was an excellent show and I enjoyed it immensely. I’ll definitely be back next year!
And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything.
