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Olympus New York Fashion Week: Sunday
Sunday I only had time to squeeze in one show, so I went to Gustavo Arango, where I had a nice second-row seat (and got a lovely lavender Aveda candle). Gustavo is a Puerto Rican designer who had a rough time after 9/11 but is now back, showing in NYC. And while his clothes are quite beautiful, they're silk, satin, beaded and chiffon, and thus much better suited for evening. But, hey, this is Fashion Week, not Banana Republic, so I'll gladly take glamour over everyday stuff. Although, if you're a fancy lady, you could probably get away with wearing this beautiful pleated iridescent top and paneled satin skirt to work. Um, with a camisole underneath, of course.


Gustavo is at his best when he sticks to more streamlined shapes, although I did see one of spring's trends emerging in this show: volume! The picture of this beaded lace camisole and satin tulip skirt doesn't do it justice. The fabrics were very glamorous, but the silhouette was pretty relaxed, creating an interesting contrast. I say, hey, if you wear this to a formal event, at least you'll have room to eat dinner!


Sometimes, Gustavo went a bit crazy with the volume, however. Take this dress, for example. The model can barely pull it off; this much fabric would dwarf a petite woman and make a "normal"-size one look rather massive.


Heavily tattooed model Omayra is back on the runway, and she appears to be as confused by this dress as I was.


I've noticed a lot of designers like to end their show with a bridal gown (or in Gottex's case, a bridal swimsuit), I'm assuming for dramatic effect. This wasn't the last dress (I can't find pictures of the actual last one for some reason), but it could work as a wedding dress. And, again, the photograph doesn't do it justice.


As you might have noticed from these pictures, the models' skin was very shiny in this show. That, combined with my close-to-the-runway seat allowed me to check out the models' skin. And while some of them are clearly naturally blessed (or at least they've been investing in frequent facials), a lot of them had pretty bumpy skin. I'm sure a lot of it was due to the harsh makeup they've been wearing all day at the shows, but like seeing the models' cellulite at Cia Maritima, this made me feel a lot better. And speaking of Brazilian swimsuits, I was going to hit the Rosa Cha show on Sunday night, but after a long weekend of shows and entertaining my parents, I was exhausted. I was also, after a mere two glasses of wine, tipsy. Ah, the glamorous life of a blogger...