Farewell, New York Fashion Week. Hello, New Faces

Apparently, “basic” is the new black. The Spring/Summer 2011 Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week, which ended yesterday, demonstrated that designers are still courting recession-wary customers by offering signature pieces that translate beyond a single season.

Among fashion's old guard brands, Ralph Lauren returned to his Western roots, Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein presented sleek, simply-cut dresses, and Oscar de la Renta stuck to his fail-safe Upper East Side cocktail dresses—to a fault, some believed.

But amidst this return to familiar territory, several up-and-coming designers made their presence known in the tents. Over the last few years, Asian-American designers have been gaining in sartorial influence, with Michelle Obama favorite Jason Wu, Parsons grad Alexander Wang and Richard Chai, who together swept the 2010 CFDA Awards. This year, the up-and-comer to watch was Prabal Gurung, a CFDA-nominee who hails from Singapore, by way of Kathmandu. Click through to check out his collection, and more fresh faces on the catwalk this past week.Continue reading...