Sunday
11:45 p.m.
Weatherproof aliens or fashion victim? This is what I’m wondering as I ride past a group of girls, wearing spring looks with bare legs, on my way across town to Sean Kelly gallery for Derek Lam’s show. The street style circuit has become just as strategic as the red carpet world, and the logic behind all the open-toed shoes in snow goes a little like this: Many editors are looking for spring and summer street style looks to accompany their coverage of all the spring/summer ’14 goods hitting stores (you know how much we love a “Get the Look” story) — because editors can’t run a shaggy, woolly street style photo next to a roundup of shorts in the July issue, can they? So the girls seeking their 15 minutes of Internet fame resort to going jacket-less and hosiery-free in 20-degree weather. It just makes the photos look silly because there’s still snow in the background.
12:10 p.m.
Meanwhile, Derek Lam’s easy, nuanced dresses, oversized coats and separates stand in polar opposition to the peacock shows that have been happening outside Lincoln Center all week. They have a quiet subtlety that nonetheless packs impact: whether it’s the green neckline on a simple gray and white color-blocked tee or the curved line of a sleeve on a jacket. Minimalism can get boring really fast. But Derek’s breathed life into the idea by jazzing up his simple shapes with unexpected textures (a mesh dress worn over a pencil skirt, for example, and a slip dress made of swatches of satin pieced together with gold beads), which is what makes the clothes look so unique.
The scene
A small, crowded room full of top editors, stylists and power bloggers; Derek Lam always pulls out the biggies. For example, here, front row fixtures like Bryanboy and Natalie Joos and fashion directors from some of your favorite glossies sit in the second and third instead.
What this will mean for your wardrobe
Not anything earth-shatteringly new, but this collection made a good argument for giving your inner trendy, magpie a rest and investing in a more understated, timeless look instead.
