District L

After a post-NYFW weekend spent catching up on sleep, nourishment, and the occasional phone call, District L found time to delve into our messy runway notes.

We started the week together at MAINENTRANCE, celebrating DJ Riggs and Berry Bachen's launch of their new creative space. As street-style photographer, Mr. Newton, furiously snapped away, guests enjoyed cocktails and music in the hidden Midtown location.

The first official day of New York Fashion Week in Lincoln Center was September 9. Our schedule for the evening included a picnic-perfect Verrier presentation, followed by a collective showing called Concept Korea. The next day, Nicolas ventured to the tents solo, where he enjoyed Buckler, EDITION by Georges Chakra, Ports 1961, and Alexander Berardi, just to name a few. We later met up on the Lower East Side for a fabulous Fashion's Night Out with Lois Eastlund.

Our weekend started in the Studio with Mik Cire. His male models must have gotten rowdy that night, because Rebecca Minkoff's girls were rocking a bit of morning-after attitude the following day. While I attended Minkoff's model presentation at the Box, Nick headed to the Audi Forum for some Thuy eye-candy.

We reconvened over EFFEN cocktails in the IMG Fashion Lounge before heading to see Joaquin Trias' intelligent design. We then attended Custo Barcelona's party-girl parade before jetting downtown to catch Sally Lapointe's inspiring debut show.

Monday rolled around, bringing Monique Lhuillier's delicious temptation to the Stage. Later that evening, the District L dyad met up for sorbet in Key West - I mean, the Perry Ellis runway show. Post-Perry, we cabbed it down to ION Studios to check out ANN YEE's model party over wine and remixes by Crystal Castles.

Tuesday brought us two fantastic fairytales:  TIBI and Toni Francesc. Afterwards, we headed to Toni's afterparty at Veranda, where we drank Given and chatted up Aimee from Song of Style.

We met up the following evening to witness some Lynn Wyatt-chic at Zang Toi. On Thursday, Nick attended the Argentina Group Show before meeting up with me at Milk Studios for The Blonds. After devouring our much-needed dose of sparkle, sex, and spunk, we headed back to Lincoln Center. Helping out with our hectic schedule, Madisen Walker remained uptown to cover Rebecca Moses, or rather, cover-to-cover Rebecca Moses.

The last New York show of the season was IVANAhelsinki. After searching relentlessly, Paola Ivana Suhonen found her sailor - in sun-washed nautical prints and rope-coil boots.

Post by Amanda LaMela

The advent of digital textile printing has opened up a whole new world of creative possibility and unprecendented flexibility for designers - we're finally beginning to see the line between conceptual design and pret-a-porter blur. No designer has embraced these new technologies with more enthusiasm than London's own textile illusionist Mary Katrantzou.

Long regarded as a master of trompe l'oeil, Katrantzou took inspiration for her S/S 2011 collection from seventies interior design photography, but turned inside-out - the room is now on the model, rather than the model in the room. Her S/S 2011 runway is enchanting on a variety of levels, as the prints are not only masterfully designed to have a stunningly three-dimensional depth but they simulataneously draw the viewer inward without distracting from the actual construction of the pieces, which is exquisite.

Furthermore, each look is a separate vignette unto itself within the greater narrative of the collection, adding a flair of enticingly unaddressed intrigue. It's a supremely relevant and ingenious interpretation of this spring's fairytale trend - London Fashion Week just took a long awaited turn for the better.

Post by Nicolas Sera-Leyva