Summary: It seems that New York City was a popular theme this year. Just as the Kate Spade RTW collection, Tracy Reese’s Fall 2013 gave tribute to one of the greatest cities in the world (after Chicago, of course). And by “New York City” that meant New York City… in the 1980’s in a major way. Reese described the collection as the quintessential New York girl: “sexy, strong, eccentric and individual.” Bright and cold colors, as well as jacquard renderings with lots of sparkling beadwork, make this collection hands down the brightest thing I’ve seen all season. And yet, I’m still trying to figure out if that was a good thing.
Rich embellishments and textures are mixed with romantic patterns of ladylike lace and air skirts. An explosion of cheetah, zebra and leopard added on-trend appeal to the classic scalloped hemlines and cropped leather moto jackets. In most cases, the many of the ensembles skewed way too young for Reese’s key demographic. That seems to be Reese’s biggest obstacle every season. The collection looks as if it is trying too hard to perfect the standard for the “in-crowd”. It seems as if she is looking at the collection from a skewed parent’s point of view, by telling the teenager what they think is “so hip and cool” right now, sounding like it was read straight off of a Seventeen magazine. It takes a discerning eye but by looking at each piece individually, you can see the all the skill and technique that this collection has to offer. There is style and functionality in Reese’s collection, the styling just makes it that much harder to spot. If the colors and prints were toned down just a bit or even limited to just two or three main prints, I think that this collection would be better received. It’s just that with all the bells and whistles, it looks like Reese has no editing filter which ends up making this collection look just a smidge desperate.
Fabrics & Textures: cheetah, lace, hair calf, patent leather, beading, floral, silk, melton, leather, neoprene, tribal, zebra, jacquard, sequins, stretch crepe, fur, tartan, godet, medallion print, knit, moleskin hair, velour, Mongolian lamb, gauze, tweed knit, laminated, twill, flocking, applique, boucle, polka dot, sarasatic
Colors: charcoal, white, black, scarlet, teal, ocelot, bronze, grey, praline, tan, gold, cerise, ivory, champagne, lipstick, tree of life, custard, lychee, magenta, aubergine
Key Looks: Small floral silk surplice blouse, small floral silk relaxed pants; Zebra/ocelot jacquard and lace combo shift, white broadcloth shirt; Charcoal tweed knit leather edge double-breasted jacket, ivory flocked lace front shirt, black twill relaxed pant
– Taneisha Jordan
Photos: NYMag
