LORIS DIRAN Spring/summer 2014 "SAMARKAND" with GULI collection

LORIS DIRAN presented his Women’s and Men’s Collections for Spring/summer 2014 on Thursday, September 12th 2013 at the Dimenna Center for Classical Music in New York City for this September’s New York Fashion Week.  Known as a regular on the NYFW schedule for 9 previous seasons, this runway presentation marked Mr. Diran’s return to the New York Fashion Week schedule after a 2 year absence during which his collections were shown exclusively in Italy and Asia.

The Spring/Summer 2014 collection, entitled “SAMARKAND”,  draws its inspiration from Diran’s time spent in Central Asia’s Uzbekistan. From the deep, Warm Spice tones of the Souks to the opulence and ancient grandeur of its Mosques,

JSong and ...Way Spring/Summer 2014 Collection

The JSong and …Way Spring/Summer 2014 collection of easy-to-wear pieces in vibrant colors and flattering silhouettes, showed that comfort is not a compromise to style.

The color palette was a splendid and full of pretty pastels and bright colors, with appealing names that conjured up images of springtime picnics like green apple, honey yellow, and butter yellow.

Here are some highlights from the show:

The show began with a models in bold contrasting navy linen pantsuit and skirt suit with ice blue geometric stitching.

Next came some everyday looks, such as a versatile pleated surplice top that could be worn as front or back.

Layered pieces followed in a bright pink and pastel chiffon top paired with pastel pink chiffon A-line skirt and a layered citrus green & light green chiffon top with grass green classic linen pants.

Draped chiffon dresses in cream were pretty and romantic, as well as elongating to the figure.

We then traveled back in time for mod and chic look in the form of a orange multi color block dress and orange multi color block top paired with white pants.

One of the showstoppers was a white circle lace pillow tunic paired with beige linen embroidered with white geometric stitching, an unexpected but beautiful combination.

The show ended with an elegant long sleeved red lace dress that was reminiscent of the wedding gown worn by Duchess of Cambridge.

JSong and …Way showed a lovely collection of their signature embroidery and linen pieces, both feminine and wearable.

Article written by Alice Chin, also posted on 247feature.com and AsianinNY.com

Photo credit Emily Cheng/AsianinNY.com

With Scotland With Love "The Scottish Lion Meets the Asian Dragon Fashion Show"

I recently attend  From Scotland With Love's Cocktail Party and Fashion Show Fundraiser on April 8, 2013 at Stage 48. (605 W. 48th St, NY, NY).

Their annual charity event raised money for  The Wounded Warrior Project., which provides aid and support to injured service members.  This year, AsianinNY was honored to be one of the media sponsors of the Scottish and Asian fusion themed fashion show, "The Scottish Lion Meets The Asian Dragon". Here is a glimpse of the fabulous evening through the eyes of our AsianinNY reporters!

Celebrity guests, designers, models, and television personalities posed on the red carpet for photos dressed in Scottish and or Asian accented designs. AsianinNY reporter Alice Chin spoke to Megan Ory, of Once Upon a Time on ABC, who was excited to walk her first runway show modeling for Vivienne Westwood. When asked whether she was nervous, she said having her husband by her side kept her from feeling nervous. She had also practiced her walk before the show and received tips from her model friends.

On the other hand, the beautiful Kelly Hu, former model and actress, felt slightly nervous because it had been while since she had walked a show. Kelly had just finished filming in Vancouver, and is currently shoot for a show called Arrow, among her many projects.  

Designer Chloe Chen also posed on the carpet and told us how she was inspired by the Chinese garden window for one of her pieces.

As you walked around Stage 48,  you could see guests wearing a mix of Scottish kilts, Asian embroidered clothing, or Scottish plaid. One guest wore a black leather kilt decorated with an Asian dragon designed by his sister-in-law, designer Meredith Lockhart, whose designs were part of the show. Guests sipped on special drinks with scotch while being served hors d'oeurves of smoked salmon salsa and stir-fry in a mini take-out boxes. Jars full of Scottish chocolate caramel wafer were placed strategically at the bars for those craving sweets.

 

The fashion show kicked off with hosts Chairman Dr. Geoffrey Scott Carroll and Vice-Chairman Mr. Peter Morris introducing two representatives of the theme, an adorable lion-like Chow-Chow, followed by traditional dragon dancers. 

Gorgeous singer Baiyu Chen then captivated the audience with her soulful rendition of a Scottish melody. Dr. Geoffrey Scott Carroll and Mr. Peter Morris introduced special guest, Sargent Dan Nevins (ret.) US Army, a US Army paratrooper who had lost both his legs as a result of an IED in Iraq. He is now an executive with the Wounded Warrior Project.

Over 40 designers were represented in the show and plenty of stars modeled including athlete Steve Weatherword and Good Morning America anchor Josh Elliot. Some of the well known Asian designers who contributed their designs to the show included Zang Toi, Vivienne Tam, Chloe Chen and Grace Chen. 

Zang Toi walked the show wearing a velvet black kilt of his own design, while the first Asian supermodel Ling Tan twirled in a dramatic House of Toi tartan gown. The most exciting part of the show for AsianinNY reporter, Linda Nguyen, was to see special guest Arun Manilal Gandhi (Gandhi’s frandson) walk the down the runway stage wearing a special peace kilt .  

New York International Auto Show 2013

Photo taken inside Lexus

Asia Week 2013 Press Walk

It's a rare event that will have me gladly wake up at 6am without pressing the snooze button.   But at 8am yesterday, I was at China 2000 Fine Art, eager to partake in the Asia Week New York's Press Walk.  Asia Week's PR maven, Marilyn White led a group to preview some of the galleries participating in Asia Week New York, the annual collaboration of international Asian art specialists, major auction houses, museums and Asian cultural institutions.  We visited around 30 galleries in the span of 12 hours and had a fascinating, eye-opening and education experience.

At its fifth year, the Asia Week takes place in metropolitan New York with a diverse group of galleries showing antiques, traditional and contemporary artwork from Asia inluding China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, India, and is open to the public from March 15 - March 23, 2013.

Here are a few highlights of my day.

Dai Ichi Arts 
Contemporary Chinese and Japanese
100 Central Park South 11C,
Newy York, NY 10019

Dai Ichi Art's exhibit, The Best of the Two Contemporary Asian Countries:  Chinese Shuimo (水墨 water ink) Paintings and Japanese Ceramics, truly was a representation of the perfect melding of Western and Eastern techniques in Chinese Shuimo Paintings and Japanese Ceramics.

Kato Tsubusa (b. 1962) Square Bowl, 2008.  Pale blue glazed porcelain

Hayashi Yasuo 林康夫, Kawabata Kentaro  小原康裕,  Miwa Kazuhiko 三輪和彥, Nagae Shigekazu 長江重和, Wada Morihiro 和田守卑良 and Wakao Toshisada 若尾利貞 represent the golden age and the modern renaissance of ceramic making in Japan.  Their  work is traditional yet curretn, architectural yet abstract; disciplined yet free spirited.

Li Huisheng 李惠生, Camels in Tian Shen Mountain (2002)

Li Huisheng 李惠生, rediscovers the essence of traditional Shuimo paintings in his unique, expressive and vigourous style.

New York Wine Expo 2013

I attended the sixth annual New York Wine Expo recently at the Javitz Center.  It was a fantastic event with over 500 wines from around the globe, including Europe, the Mediterranean, South American and South Africa.  It can be a little overwhelming with all the different regions and varieties.  However, the sections nicely labeled by region.  One of the wines from South Africa that I tried was produced by The House of Mandela, the family of Nelson Mandela.  It had a pleasant fruity flavor which was not overpowering, which I enjoyed.  See below for more wines that I tasted.  

Everyone knows cheese and wine go together.  The rich and creamy Cambozola Black Label cheeses were a perfect match with the wines that we drank.  My favorite was the truffle flavored cheese.

A pleasant, soft and sweet Riesling by Hosmer.

A regional New York favorite: Ice Wine

Kithe Brewster Fall 2013 Collection

Celebrity Stylist and Designer Kithe Brewster presented his Fall 2013 Collection on Valentine's Day, with an intimate show at his private studio in the garment industry.   I felt fortunate to be part of the select group who experienced the myriad of show-stopping dresses and flowing gowns in exotic materials.  The looks were lighthearted and sexy.  Skin flashed, but in unexpected and playful ways, such as high slits in the back of gowns.

Mr. Brewster was particularly influenced by a 2011 trip to Uzbekistan where he attended Art Week in Tashkent as a guest of Gulnara Karimova for Style.Uz.  He not only got a rare glimpse of the Uzbek art and fashion world, but also hosted his own master class,  where he talked about the challenges of working with famous actresses, singers and top models.  While he was there, he saw many unique and beautiful Uzbek fabrics and intricate gold embroidery which he purchased and used for this current collection.

One of the Uzbek fabrics was a bright teal floral silk fabric which was cut as a burqa and also as a gown.   An interesting piece was a beautiful black dress, which seemed military inspired with a shield-like structure, embellished with a bold golden pattern reminiscent of a royal coat of arms.   Producer and Co-CEO of The Halcyon Company and Tara Subkoff of Imitation were the grand finale, looking golden in their respective outfits as they walked the runway.  Guests at the show included Atlanta Real House Wife, Cynthia Bailey, designer Zang Toi, and Constance White.

Tara Subkoff, Victor Kubicek, and Kithe Brewster

Tara Subkoff models for Kithe Brewster

Golden Pair: Producer Victor Kubicek and Imitation of Christ's Tara Subkoff

 Cynthia Bailey (Real Houswives of Atlanta) and Designer Zang Toi

Susan Murphy and Dr. Robert Brewster

Makeup by Edward Cruz

Designer Stefanie and Jocelyn Taylor (wearing SKINDEEP by Stefanie)

Singer Marieme