New York Fashion Week spring 2014: Skingraft review
NEW YORK -- L.A.-based Skingraft staged its first full-blown runway show at New York Fashion Week at a Pier 59 arts space Wednesday night.
Inspiration: Designer Jonny Cota wasn’t tipping his hand -- at least in the show notes -- but in addition to the motorcyle/motocross aesthetic that’s long been part of Skingraft’s brand DNA, there were enough sporty details like jersey numbers, shin guards, athletic mesh and a shirt with a quilting pattern that made it resemble a baseball catcher’s chest plate, the spring collection wouldn’t have looked out of place in a “Rollberball” remake.
The look: Grounded in a palette of black and white with a few pieces in mustard yellow, the collection included leather leggings, trousers, tank tops, dresses and drop-crotch shorts, silk trousers, skirts and hoodies. There were also lots of layered tunics and protective-armor-like dresses.
One of the most eye-catching parts of the collection was a series of Alexander McQueenesque black-and-white bone print patterns that appeared on leggings, shirts, dresses and jackets.
The scene: The audience was filled with some of the most outlandish outfits of the “just-gotta-be-me” crowd so far at New York Fashion Week -- more man skirts than a Highland fling, fish-netting face masks, a black burqa worn under a pair of wrap-around mirrored glasses that looked like lenses popped out of an old pair of ski goggles, and a towering, bearded fellow swathed in what looked like black Mylar with a head of hair that had been teased into Texas-worthy longhorns that jutted so far out to the left and right that they actually cast shadows across the top of the runway as flashbulbs popped at the start of the show.
The verdict: The strong and varied collection Cota and company sent down the runway was worthy of the brand’s New York Fashion Week debut, and has us beaming with hometown pride.
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