Fashion Week

There are so many designers working today. Many are unknown, some with good reason.

I thought I'd share some recent New York Fashion Week experiences and thoughts on designers that I’m sure you’ve never heard of.

I saw the work of a Canadian designer, Helen Oro. This was strange to say the least. Six models came out all wearing plain black bodysuits and black tights or pantyhose. And that was it. To vary it a bit, two were wearing denim vests. The shoes had heels so high that one model tripped.

Another designer whose work I saw was Lourdes Atencio, from the Dominican Republic. Many of the dresses were long in the back and no more than bodysuits in the front. Suitable for a Las Vegas showgirl. But some were really pretty with bare backs and simple draping in front, all in bright pretty colors.

The models in this show were rather unusual and I confess I don’t understand it. One model was a good 30 pounds overweight. I had never seen anything like this before. Maybe Atencio is trying to fight back against the anorexic look. Another model was a child, no more than 10 years old, short. She was heavily made up and wore a long dress suitable for an adult.

The Northeast Indian Academy of the Performing Arts presented a show by what seemed to be two Indian designers, called Mio. The dresses were in jewel tones of red and green and had long, diaphanous skirts. They were really lovely and should sell well to a certain type of woman who goes to a lot of dressy events.

Some outfits in this collection consisted of a long skirt and a bra top. If you’re thin enough and young enough, it’s a nice look. Some time ago, I thought that the bare midriff would have fallen off the radar by this time. It has proven to have more staying power than I thought.

A word about the shoes. Every model in every show wore 6-inch heels with platform soles. I think they’re ugly. They’re certainly impractical and almost impossible to walk in. Many of the models walked as though they were afraid of falling.

Clearly, some unknowns go on to fame and fortune through talent and/or luck. Others are destined to labor in the shadows. I would not want to wager in which category the above-mentioned designers would fall.

Miriam Silverberg is a freelance journalist and owner of Miriam Silverberg Associates, a boutique publicity firm in Manhattan. She may be reached at [email protected]