District L

In typical District L style, we'd perhaps open this post with a clever paragraph wherein we reminisce fondly about last week - what with all the rushing too and fro between venues, furious, finger-callusing live-tweeting, and countless moments of anticipation as the plastic was peeled back from the runway time and time again. We might even throw in an alcohol-related pun, hurl a barb at the sucky realities of returning to the daily grind, and spit some vitriol about people on the subway.

But the fact of the matter is that it's 10 PM on a Tuesday and we'd rather just jump straight to the LaPointe (sorry, had to) - here are our top 5 picks for best collections from NYFW A/W 2011:

1. Sally LaPointe

This one should come as no surprise - ever since attending the plucky designer's debut show last September, we've been staunch supporters of LaPointe's dark, alien aesthetic that resonates as simultaneously precise and effortless. Did her Fall collection climb straight out of the primordial ooze of a Roland Flexner print? Or did it reverse sublimate from thin air to monolithic vibrancy?

2. Bensoni

Gothic wedding vignette? How rad was that? The duo behind Bensoni is all about balance, taking inspiration from the past yet tempering it with forward thinking. Needless to say, they didn't disappoint for Fall. There was a hefty dose of 90's gloom and doom in their presentation this season, but taken to the next level with an infusion of minute detail and texture play that has become a contemporary design mainstay.

3. Mik Cire

Mik Cire's Eric Kim is an accomplished design professional, and his collection this season made that fact more evident than ever. Last Spring, Kim gave us slouchy asymmetricality in linen and jersey; this Fall, he presented crisp, sharp tailoring in leather and gabardine. A quality that we value most in a designer is something Kim possesses in spades - the ability to surprise and deliver the unexpected without allowing their trademark sensibilities to become lost.

4. Maisonette 1977

Designer Jane Ibrahim stirred something far down inside of us with her evocative Fall line for Maisonette 1977. Taking inspiration from Christopher Nolan's "Inception", she served as the architect behind a towering metropolis rising out of the ether of the subconscious. It was well-edited, modern, and to be quite honest it just had a certain je ne sais quoi about it that drew us in deeper, deeper, and deeper still.

5. NOMIA

Like Bensoni, NOMIA was another delightfully intimate affair in the Standard's Highline Room - a perfect setting for an enticing collection of sleek, geometric sportswear that can easily find a home in any closet (or bedroom floor, whatever). We have to give praise to lines like NOMIA that strike rest firmly in that hard-to-hit intersection of concept and accessibility. Like Madisen said, "[The Standard's] attuned blend of nature, urbanity, and notorious exhibitionism matched perfectly with the theme of NOMIA’s runway."

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva

After a round of Bee's Knees and Lady Lemons at the Boom Boom bar, the DL team elbowed their way through the throngs to The Standard Hotel's 3rd floor for Bensoni's A/W 2011 showing. Always a treat for the eyes, Bensoni's Channing Clyburn and Sonia Yoon delivered a vibrant 70's-inspired lineup last Spring. It was well received -  said Style.com of the twosome in their review "It will be exciting to watch this pair continue to find their voice in seasons to come" and we were inclined to agree. Needless to say, their Fall collection didn't disappoint.

Framing their runway in the context of a Gothic Wedding Vignette, each of the 24 looks shown was a story unto itself. Expertly styled, Bensoni gave us dramatic fur vests and parkas, daring outerwear in metallic snake and raw scratched wool, plenty of lace net, and a few coquettish peplumed looks that demonstrated a flawless sense of color (bridesmaids?). Multiple prints were used in many individual looks, a skill that few designers can pull off - the sheer amount of detail in each outfit was impressive.

Clyburn and Yoon executed their Fall collection without taking their inspiration too literally, another ability that they were noted for possessing last Spring. It's easy to envision a "Gothic Wedding" as a parade of pure leather and fishnet, which tonight's runway decidedly was not. We came away from The Standard afterwards feeling supremely fulfilled, and we're already anxious to see what the gifted young duo will present next season.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva