design: Tibi. photo: Pete Springer.
The time is out of joint. As the internet has increased coverage of fashion shows (Style.com, New York Magazine, etc.) what we used to see in the pages of the fat fall glossies as the garments hit the stores, we now see on the runway well before we can touch any of it. Such was not the case at Runway to Rooftop, Nordstrom’s fundraiser for the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. Here garments went from the runway straight to the dressing room.
design: Missoni. photo: Pete Springer.
Guests like event co-chairs Kelly Coller (Twenty-Four Seven, OFFICE) and Stephanie Milne (Nike), PICA’s Victoria Frey (rocking sky-high baby pink stilettos, leggings, and a mini bubble dress), Portland Monthly’s Nicole Vogel, restaurateur Bruce Carey, and media girls Liz Hummer (PDX Magazine) andn Karen Vitt (Lucky) saw work from Missoni, Valentino Red, Catherine Malandrino, Louis Verdad, Gary Graham, Chaiken, and Tibi. We saw great coat options, more experimentation with sleeve shapes than we’ve seen in ages, from bells to poet-sleeves (Malandrino), narrow trousers, and winter shorts in lots of chocolate and charcoal.
design: Valentino Red. photo: Pete Springer.
Did we think that Valentino Red would show us some of our favorite looks of the evening? No, but this collection has the kind of legs that take many of the pieces both uptown and down-. The two jersey shirtdresses evoked 70s Diane von Furstenberg (and Halston, for that matter) in understatedly glam ways (in spite of the brown tights they were shown with). A fabulously oversized wheat tunic sweater was pouring off of the model, its sleeves bunched up with tabs. And best in show may very well have been the liquid black batwing blouson sweater. That VR lost us at the lace evening looks didn’t tarnish the impression.
design: Sinha-Stanic. photo: Pete Springer.
But the most interesting collection was that of Sinha-Stanic, whose tailored looks in silk were roughed up with unfinished seams and hems, but only just. The color of the magenta suite of cocktail dresses was a bit much, but the silver and black mini-dresses with armor-like graphic beading were fab. And of all the jackets and coats we saw, Sinha-Stanic’s swag-back camel coat was the best.
design: Chaiken. photo: Pete Springer.
Show highlights included Chaiken’s black merino shearling vest with a dramatic standup collar and Missoni’s “car wash” dress, with it’s vertically striped skirt.
photo: Pete Springer.
Styling notes: Stylists put the girls in regulation platform pumps, leggings (all of the Missoni dresses were shown with sheer leggings), and stick-straight ponytails. They also showed slouchy ankle boots with dresses which worked and trouser socks with pumps shown with shorts which definitely didn’t. And if these lovely models couldn’t make brown tights look like something, we’d all do well to steer clear of same.
updated Monday September 25 2006 10:52
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