missoni sweater |

You know what’s better than watching the snooze fest that is NY Fashion Week? A 5 hr. brunch. I look like a character out of a Wes Anderson film.

Is the clothing industry dead in America? According to a recent Bloomberg article, the industry has a huge problem. The majority of Americans aren’t interested in filling their closets with the trendy fashion items.

Consumers would rather eat out and spend money on other expenditures such as tech and beauty products. Despite the spate of similar articles addressing the retail industry’s woes, the fashion shows continue. New York Fashion Week kicked off and though some of my favorite designers, Thom Browne, Altuzarra and Delpozo have decamped for Paris, I am hopeful that the fashion industry will reinvent itself and put new and novel small labels in the spotlight.

New designers at NY fashion week fall 2018

A few new designers hit the fall 2018 runway. Left to right: Sun Xue Gao – photo by Filippo Fior via TheCut.com; Adidas Originals by Danielle Cathari Collection – photo by Marcus Tondo, via TheCut.com; Kim Shui, photo courtesy of Kim Shui.

Knitwear! I have a new found respect and love of designer knitwear after I took up knitting this year. Some New York Fashion Week designers who show hand knit sweaters, begin the design process by actually knitting swatches in their studios. Knit design development requires choosing yarn, sketching out the design, doing fittings and making sure the garment can be produced. I had no idea I could love yarn as much as I do since attending the Vogue Knitting Live! event in NYC last month.

MITTENS!!!!!! These remind me of the ones I had during my childhood. Forget wearing them, just wear them around your neck as an accessory. From left to right: Hellessy – photo by Luca Tombolini, via Vogue.com; M Missoni – photo courtesy of M Missoni, via Vogue.com. (NYFW) and mittens by Ulla Johnson – photo by Monica Feudi via Vogue.com.

From left to right: Linder – photo by Luca Tombolini via Vogue.com; Oscar de la Renta – photo by Yannis Vlamos via Vogue.com and Christian Cowan – photo courtesy of Christian Cowan via Vogue.com

Here’s an accessory from the CHROMAT show that serves no function, but looks damn cool: eyeglasses missing the bottom frame and glass. Think of all the woman that do a poor job maintaining their eyebrows. Just in case you over pluck, put on these eye frames to camouflage them.

With the exception of some established designers such as Oscar de la Renta and their design team, Monse, NYFW was a snore-fest. Repetition, reworking, recycling and banality seem to reign throughout the week. In fact, it seems as though Zara was the paradigm for mix-match styling du jour. London’s calling and I’m scooting over the pond for my fashion injection. Cheerio!

Is it crazy to order cocktails that coordinate with your outfit? A key lime martini perfectly complements my knitted Missoni sweater, don’t you think?