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It’s not often to see the themes of patriotism, violence and sexuality explored together, much less through swimwear, accessories and evening gowns. But Jeremy Scott, who is deft at crafting social commentary through a runway show, skillfully examined these themes with a message that is biting, but leaves its mark without piercing the skin.

While previous collections took a bit more reading into for full appreciation of the message, the intent of each piece in this collection was obvious, but that didn’t detract from the effect. The prints were a juxtaposition of childish icons and militaristic symbols: a CareBear holding a rifle printed on a knit sweaterdress, reflective Mickey Mouse ears adorned the top of a helmet, and bullets in the shape of crayons created a printed trim on the bottom of a tank top. Jeremy thus continues to play on our preconceptions of what is “adult,” highlighting the childishness that underlines materialism (fall ’06) and militarism (spring ’07).

Jeremy’s men’s collection focused primarily on the friction/overlap between the machismo embraced by both gay culture and the military—it wasn’t clear if a cargo vest worn over bare skin belonged in a gay club or the barracks (probably both). A brawny model in an army green Speedo bathing suit with “ United States of America ” printed on the buttocks wore combat boots and oversized gold dog tags that read “Top Secret,” mocking the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, even calling it out as hypocritical.

Jeremy is the most playful, as well as the most overt when it comes to his evening wear: a strapless dress had Mount Rushmore across the chest, the capitol building served as dual breast cups on another, and whirling airplane propellers on the ends breast cones were the only ornamentation on a black satin v-neck dress. A daring upstart would make a splash and a scene by wearing one of these to the next White House Correspondents Association dinner.

When he pulled back just a little, his designs were most striking in their message—a balloon hemmed dress with barbed wire print was just the right juxtaposition of the threatening danger evoked by the jagged metal print and the welcoming calm of the dress’ pillow-like form.

ALI MANNING

A weight debate, a lineup of star designers from Ashley Isham, Julien McDonald, Betty Jackson, Emporio Armani, Paul Smith Women and many others makes rumors of the death of London Fashion Week greatly exaggerated. The exhibitions start today and we look forward to ogling from afar the designers coming out of England.

Our New York coverage continues with wrap-ups, detailed looks and behind the scenes info.

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For his first (non-reality TV produced) runway show, Jay McCarroll had high expectations to live up to: as season one winner of Project Runway, he already has a devoted fanbase that has been watching him closely and anticipating this show for a year (and were cheering before the models even walked), and he sets a precedent for the potential success of other contestants. Jay himself set high expectations by promising to transport us from the street to the clouds. Such build-up almost invariably results in disappointment, as one can almost never live up to the hype. But in true Jay go-against-the-grain McCarroll style, Jay blew us all away with a collection that showed no trace of performance anxiety. Instead, it was a collection that reflected Jay himself: larger than life, colorful without being obnoxious, refreshingly candid, and irresistible to love.

Jay was true to his word: he did not take us to space, but kept us hovering in the sky—his collection remained higher than the street, but did not enter the space age either. It was instead a futurism rooted in present street style, with a nod the mod past. Jay’s models walked down the runway with an uber-cool attitude, posing nonchalantly in front of the camera as if to say, “Take my picture if you must.” These are the clothes that are for the street, but still unattainable—only the hippest of the MisShapes and Cobrasnake crowd will be wearing these.
Jay’s greatest strength is his ability to use color—bold colors—and not be loud or obtrusive. The shades of chrome in chevron (inverted-V) prints deepened from top to bottom, lengthening skirts and dresses. Several color block coats, turtlenecks and dresses had varying hues of a turquoise or orange that blended together seamlessly.

Jay’s ingenuity and mischievous approach extended into all parts of the collection: metallic trousers were tight enough to be mistaken as leggings; cuffed leggings with side buttons had the tailoring of trousers. Jay used geometric shapes to underline his playfulness: an iridescent blue circle-cut poncho resonated with the audience who had just shuffled in from a steady rainfall. Thin wire composed looped and squared necklaces. Jay’s signature circles within circles appeared on shift dresses and tops. A necklace with white ducks was worn backwards, filling the void space of a lace top with a low back cut.

Jay also presented menswear—a savvy business move given his already captivated male audience—easily worn separates such as silver track jackets, striped tees and vests can all be picked up piecemeal or worn together.

And always true to himself, Jay did many things larger-than-life: orb-like sunglasses that would shield any celebutante’s face from the paparazzi and a skirt with grommets large enough to poke a thumb through. A balloon formed by wire hanging from the end of a necklace was so large that it needed to be carried in-hand.

Jay McCaroll has shattered the “reality curse;” soon his stint on Project Runway will be incidental, something mentioned as backgrounder to a designer who stands all on his own.

ALI MANNING

I guess it was sheer coincidence that my iPod shuffled to one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs right before the Manuel show. Manuel Sr. designed for stars like Johnny Cash (the embroidery-style on the jackets was used on several pieces in this collection), Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, the Rat Pack, James Dean, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Sonny and Cher, REM, and the list goes on and on. This is the second showing of his and his son’s collection at New York Fashion Week. Granted, parts of the audience could not appreciate certain pieces (I’m assuming because we’re in New York City)—they were unisex, tex-mex styled and made you want to jump on your Harley instead of hail a cab home. Manuel’s collection had some very wearable uptown pieces however, and could do quite well in urban, cosmopolitan regions broken up. The evening dresses were fantastic and could be worn in any region. The jackets and blazers could be paired easily with anything that to which you would want to add flare. The collection, titled “Sixty-five Roses,” had several pieces to raise funds and awareness to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Overall the collection was a marked change of pace from the also-rans that have been on display at this season’s fashion week.

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Across the other side of town (actually about a block from the tents,) designer Indashio of the Indashio clothing and jewelry line, hosted a fashion extravaganza at Commerce Bank over on Madison Avenue. With a clever theme of cash, Indashio’s female models threw fake bills in the air with the attitudes of heiresses. On the fashionable end, Indashio’s “Hollywood vibe” line featured shades of red, white and black, with a little infusion of green (the men’s jackets specifically.) Indashio’s models were the girls of Rodeo Drive, with their beach hats and bold looks, yet, Indashio’s collection is universally wearable enough where one could picture seeing any of these girls taking in a New York summer sun. Indashio finished his show with a series of evening wear dresses, including a gold, almost mini-dress which was sexy and sassy enough to turn any head at the hottest nightclub. Indashio’s collection can be found at www.indashio.com