On February 19, 2012 designer Edwing D’Angelo unveiled his Fall 2012 Collection during Couture Fashion Week in New York City. The runway show, “Beauty Attack,” was held in the Grand Ballroom of the world-famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
>>> CHECK OUT RUDY COLLINS PHOTOGRAPHS FROM EDWING D’ANGELO’S FALL 2012 NYFW SHOW …
The venue filled with over 800 guests, drawing such celebrities as Carla Facciolo (VH1′s Mob Wives), Royce Reed (VH1′s Basketball Wives) and Logo TV’s The A-Liststar Ryan Nickulas. Celebrity photographer Bennett Raglin covered the show for Wireimage, and seasoned fashion and entertainment photographer Robin Marchant was there for Getty Images and Rudy Collins from Harlem World Magazine.
Edwing D’Angelo also premiered the documentary Life is a Runway, celebrating his 10 years in fashion. The film, featured on NY1 earlier this month, provides a compelling look of his rapid emergence through mainstream America since his introduction in 2001, and gives a glimpse into what it takes to make it in New York’s fashion industry.
A veteran of Couture Fashion Week, D’Angelo’s Fall 2012 presentation continued with his search for the ultimate tailoring collection, where the line between masculine and feminine disappeared, yet was still strongly maintained in each gender’s own traditional aesthetics. D’Angelo proposed that women wear clothing with men’s fabrics and men wear clothing with women’s traditional details like French lace trimmings, and jumpsuits with superb cuts. However, the collection gave us a twist when it applied S&M elements, drawing inspiration from the ’80s punk with the ’90s chic, while maintaining balance of softness by imposing ’50s details and cuts.
The shirt continued to be D’Angelo’s strongest and most popular piece among his followers, and this collection did not disappoint. From dresses to pants and vests to jackets – his designs fit almost like a shirt, but yet functioned like a coat, a dress, jumpsuit or gown. The shirt had cuts fitting vintage D’Angelo, playing with different trimmings. And his chic tuxedo-like touch for both men and women with French laces and leather were clearly present.
D’Angelo had been toying for the last 2 or 3 collections with harnesses in leather and fur trimmings. He finally brought it all together to show us how those accessories, which have become so popular lately, can be worn with a dress or a suit, and maintain their mischievous aura while bringing a touch of elegance and functionality within one’s wardrobe. He called it “Soft S&M.”
The female shape fit like a glove, evoking the femme fatale of Pedro Almodóvar. The male shape reminded us of the men of Tom of Finland. In keeping up with his Soft S&M theme, D’Angelo didn’t just focus on black. He also brought blue hues with touches of red, dark and grey. His choice of fabric included Italian wools, silk satins, French lace, leathers and furs.
Submit your newstip or news photos
