American designers open Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Thursday with their spring 2015 collections staged at Lincoln Center and venues across Manhattan.
More than 100,000 guests will get a first look at what's to come from dozens of designers in about a season many agreed will be filled with interesting new fabrics, lots of color and diverse inspiration. Here's what many of them had to say without spilling too much.
Serge Azria said his Joie collection was inspired by "rich oasis blues, watermelon pinks and bold greens all set against clean, crisp tennis whites." He will emphasize different shades and textures of white and monochrome dressing. He said the season's focus is more on shape, material and color instead of focusing on any particular trend, "creating classically tailored styles that feel fresh and new."
Yoana Baraschi's collection is inspired by colorful African sunsets. Her "African chic" collection was created with cut-out laces and bonded mesh. Tribal patterns, athletic influences and midi lengths are among the main details of her garments.
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She said many of her collection's pieces will include stretch for comfort. She'll also include layered looks with cutouts and transparency, cocoon shapes and cover-up statement pieces.
Dennis Basso said big floral prints will be major in his collection along with light, sheer and flowing fabrics. He'll also work with metallic jacquards, chiffon and printed mesh silk gazar. He said his collection will give women fashion pieces that will take them from day to night and can be coordinated with different accessories. "I'll take vintage classics and reinterpret them for the modern woman," he said.
Anya Caliendo is not one to predict trends but offered that a color presence from salmon to fuchsia will have a dominant effect in her collection: "No prints, no busy patterns, just solid blocks of colors," she said. She'll work with luxurious double-faced cashmere and silk organza dabbled with aluminum to create timeless pieces. "I am not interested in creating disposable designs," she said. "It is so easy to get lost in what is commonly referred to as a trend. Don't let clothes wear you, instead make your wardrobe an extension of yourself."
Betsey Johnson said she was inspired by her "eclectic range of customers and what I think is currently missing from their closets."
So what's absent?
Johnson said dresses and separates in high-tech fabrics such as neoprene, plastic mesh, clear plastic, and lurex in both lamé and mesh. She'll mix these with taffeta, duchesse satin, tulle, organza and organdy.
She's also only working with one print she's keeping under her belt until show day but added that like her brand, it will be fun. "People come to me for the fun, crazy, over-the-top fashion, and fortunately this doesn't limit my creativity. My challenge is to constantly reinvent my collection while keeping it true to my brand DNA."
Monique Lhuillier found her collection's inspiration "right before the sun rises and paints the sky with luminous shades of pastels. This beauty of nature shaped my color palette and fabric selection."
She said she pushes herself every season to work with new silhouettes and fabrics, and for spring she is experimenting with techno-transparent iridescent sheers, textured jacquards, metallic matelassé (a quilt-like pattern) and lurex tinsel that has a tissue feel.
She said layered sheer fabrics and voluminous lightweight silhouettes are among her line's top trends because women "want clothes that are effortless, yet glamorous. And I try to make my collections as versatile as possible so that a woman can take an outfit from day to night with ease."
Bibhu Mohapatra's spring's muse is Nancy Cunard, a poet, activist and beautiful heiress to the Cunard shipping fortune. He read about her while on a cruise and so began a collection he said is rife with romantic dresses and separates in relaxed and architectural shapes, many created with fabric he sourced from Laos, a handwoven leather and silk blend with geometric patterns on it.
He said many of his garments will take women from day to night because "that's what they are always looking for."
Pamella Roland said her collection was inspired by "the quiet beauty and vibrant landscape" of Japan's Kyoto Gardens, and origami folds will add a rich layer of depth to her dresses.
"Every season is an evolution of what we've done before, and the biggest difference for next spring is in the unique fabrics we'll use, such as laminated lace, lacquered ostrich feathers, basket weave silk gazar, ombré silk tulle and floral metallic organza."
She said one of spring's biggest trends will be a return to feminine dressing and color. Among her favorite hues are soft blues, cherry blossom red and green.
Vivienne Tam found inspiration in the decorative arts of Beijing's Forbidden City, which she has visited several times. She said on a recent visit she was particularly struck by the porcelain, cloisonné, lacquer and jade in the art objects from the Qing dynasty.
"Imagine using these textures and techniques and interpreting them into modern textural clothing. I was so inspired by the colors and texture of those objects," she said, adding she is combining mesh, techno-fabrics, embroideries, appliqués and textures in unusual mishmashes.
"I think that spring's trend is toward an easy and more comfortable fit with shift dresses and relaxed separates paired with interesting flats. Also, a menswear feel as expressed in boxier jackets, shorts and trousers," she said.
Rachel Zoe's spring offering is inspired by yesteryear's high-fashion jet-set style, a time when women dressed up to board a flight, unlike today's casual look. Her collection will include tunics and trousers made with perforated tweed, embroidered lace and shadow strip plissé (fabric treated for a crinkle effect).
"The focus is on the refined silhouettes of the 1960s and the glamour of travel, then with emphasis on rich embellishments, fabrics, textures and saturated colors," she said, adding that rich embroideries and tassels will be important and relevant for the season. She'll also work with stripes and expects that more stripes will show up in other designers' collections.
With her collection she wants women to know that they shouldn't follow every trend on a runway, even hers. "Try and incorporate what works for you and give your personal style an update. It's all about taking timeless pieces and updating them so they are both functional and beautiful," she said.
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