District L

Last night, the Metropolitan Pavilion was buzzing with anticipation for New York’s third season of IvanaHelsinki. Ivana’s powerful SS11 debut had earned her a devoted following of fellow artists and industry insiders.

The showing opened up with a short video projected onto the wall – images of young girls in an open coastal plain, tiptoeing the line between playful and otherworldly. An acoustic, folksy rendition of R.E.M’s “The One I Love” began as muted reds, blues, dusty auburns, and tribal prints charged the runway. Models, adorned with paint on their faces and hands, presented Paola Suhonen’s signature motif of seasonal inspiration -- a “balance between white arctic summer nights and endless winter sadness.”

“I design for the ones who love moonlit fields, pirates, dark forests, crummy motels, champagne states of drunkenness, fragile butterflies, passionate relationships, cowboys and guardian angels,” Suhonen proclaims.

IvanaHelsinki... you had us at "pirates."

Post by Amanda LaMela

After a short abeyance, DL returns with avengence - for there are parties to be had, events to attend, and runway coverage to report. It's a tough responsibility, but we do it for YOU.

Ok, that's a lie... we do it for us. But as our dear readers, you will always be the third-party beneficiary to our continuous tomfoolery.

First things first: After an abundant (CAPSULE) Trade Show - and an equally ample afterparty - we spoke about Ivana Helsinki's crisp F11 collection, which was inspired by Finland's first signs of frost before a long winter. Pirjo Suhonen, sister of designer Paola Suhonen, followed up with DL to send along this video for the 'Velvet Lake" runway.

In addition to the fantastic runway clips we continue to amass, it's about time to divulge some upcoming fashion news: Emerging designer, Stacy Lomman, gained enough support on Kickstarter to fund her own runway show this month. On Wednesday, March 30, Stacy will be debuting her latest collection at Stepping Out Studios. Her looks are set to step out at 1:00pm.

Last, but not least! The Beautiful Chaos, which was postponed from last week, is going on RIGHT NOW. So, if you can hurry down to Gallery Bar, you might just see me there.

Post by Amanda LaMela

After a leisurely, prosecco and bruschetta fueled brunch at nearby Donatella, District L braved the windy backstreets of Chelsea, arriving at Capsule NYC in rare form. The celebrated tradeshow plays host to a bevy of emerging designers and street-wear labels, however visiting IVANA Helsinki’s booth to get a closer look at their AW 2011 collection was the primary line-item on our agenda that afternoon. Fashion Week may have just finished, but we were far from done with our duties this past weekend.

Pirjo Suhonen, sister to IVANA designer Paola Suhonen, was on hand to fill us in on the details behind this season’s collection. A departure from Spring’s upbeat sailor theme, Paola’s romantic aesthetic and knack for prints (all of them, by the way, custom made for this collection) were still just as present - it was great to see the designer’s darker side for sure.

The inspiration this season was special in that Paola sought to capture not only a mood, but a moment in time - that moment being, in this case, the quickening of the air before a big frost (and being from Finland, she knows a thing or two about the cold). The print motifs were definitely the focus of this collection, exhibited on a series of coquettish yet demure silhouettes - frosty green and fuschia feathers, arranged like rime gathered on a windowpane, stood out as particularly creative uses of pattern.

This season’s lookbook, assembled as a series of postcards in a box sporting the aforementioned feather print, was very inspired as well - how fitting that a line that so successfully encapsulated a single, ephemeral moment in time be presented as a series of moments itself. IVANA Helsinki’s cohesion and creativity across all fronts, branding included, is admirable - needless to say, we can't wait for next Spring.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva