Runway to Retail.

For my Current Designers course I am currently taking this fall quarter, we went on a little field trip to the local Neiman Marcus & Barney's New York to look at some of the commercial merchandise by designer's we've covered in class for their S/S13 runway collections. The goal was to compare & contrast the palettes, prints, fabrics and silhouettes from the runway to the retailer. 

Stop 1: Neiman Marcus

Marni

 

(Disclaimer: Not actual display at Neiman Marcus. Example.)

One of the first designers we took a look at was Marni. Marni had a very delightful and fun display and decoration for their in-store shop at Neiman Marcus. Like the above rack, is the type of racks they were using. That is not the current rack, it's an example I found because no photography is allowed. From what I saw of Marni, the visual aesthetics of the shop to begin with I feel go really well with the quirky and artsy vibe the brand is known for. The clothing was very wearable too. For being commercial pieces, I felt they were wearable yet still very upbeat and a good representation of what Marni shows on the runway. Since it is the fall/winter apparel, I saw browns, whites, blacks, royal blues, red-oranges, forest greens, rusty orange and grays for the color palette. In prints I saw stripes, leaves, and large floral print. Fabrics we see crepe, jacquard, satin, leather, flannel, some furs like fox and mink, and a little embroidery and embellishment on some clothing. The silhouette is somewhat relaxed, sort of boxy and loose, a few asymmetric cuts here and there. Overall, I'm not a Marni fan but I did really like everything and I feel it is a very appropriate brand for San Francisco natives.

Gucci

The collection of the fall/winter season of Gucci is one that I really like and I feel also does represent the brand well. Many of the pieces are very San Francisco woman style, and many still give that sexy but classy vibe we get off watching their collections grace the runway. I actually noticed a few similar styles on some of the clothing in store now to that of their runway. There was long wide and flowy sleeves and some slits. Of course the color story of this to their SS13 collection is very different cause of the season, but I got the same vibe I did from them off their runway. The collection is still sensuous and fashion forward, but wearable of course. The color palette of this collection is black, white, maroon, gold, brown, cream, grays, and a little reds, pink, and yellow, like the fabulous colors we saw in their SS13 collection but more subtle and muted. For fabrics we have jacquard, jersey, satin, silk, georgette, knits, suede, chiffon, tulle, velvet, and just about almost anything! In prints, we see floral with tiger, leopard and the rest are plain. The silhouettes we see a lot of high-waist, some body-con, a few relaxed fits, and emphasis on the neck and shoulder area with wide sleeves, embellishing, turtle necks or slits.

Stop 2: Barneys New York

Rodarte

One of the designers I was most surprised with seeing at the Barneys store was Rodarte. I felt like it was the most different out of all the designers from the looks I saw on the runway compared to the commercial looks at the retailer; regardless of it being different seasons. Rodarte's spring collection was very bold, edgy and daring. What I saw of their fall clothing didn't come off that way. Since we couldn't take any images, this was the only image on their website provided. You can already see it is definitely a more classic silhouette and bland colors, a safe choice. The color palette consisted of black, browns, tan, maroon, pale greens and oranges. For prints I saw florals again, dots, stripes, and other geometrical like lines. Fabrics there is jacquard, leather, and chiffon. The silhouettes are quite retro and somewhat form-fitting, in the waist and hip areas.






Proenza Schouler
Last but not least, I'll be talking about Proenza Schouler's clothing at Barneys. This is one brand I actually also felt lived up well to what the brand is and debuts on 
the runways. The fabrics, colors and patterns were very much the brand; edgy, cool and rather daring. The silhouettes were a but more traditional though. I felt like these commercial silhouettes of the clothing, some, were rather matronly compared to what we see on the runway from them. So for the in-store and online pieces from their Winter/Fall collection for the color palette we have black, white, red, olive, blues, aquamarine, green, and oranges. In prints it varies quite well with tie dye, some graphics, japanese print, stripes, and small squared and geometric shapes. For their fabric story, there is wovens, tweed, jacquard, and georgette. The silhouettes are not form-fitting whatsoever but not loose either. Just relaxed and it ranges in lengths from the jeans to the shorts to the skirts and dresses. 

(All images via Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus)