The front rows at Alexander Wang's show attracted some rather big names from the world of urban music but surprisingly few from the fashion industry, a smart move in media exposure but perhaps less so given the clothes that were on show. Edgy? Most certainly. Cool? Undoubtedly. But there was a disconnect between the presence of Nicki Minaj and Rhianna and the interesting twist that Wang was offering; more active-inspired than urban sportswear.
There are times when the inspiration behind a collection is clear (Chanel's 2011 Autumn/Winter apocalyptic dystopian knitwear for example) but more often it's more subtle and individual to the designer. This year Wang decided to go blatant and bold with his ready-to-wear inspired by the humble sneaker/trainer. While he wasn't the only one this year, with Chanel and Dior incorporating them directly, his took the white and green you might see on the addidas 'Stan Smith' and twisted them into clean-lined tennis dresses; Nike's neon 'Lunar Racer' became futuristic, mesh body-con wraps; the heel of the humble running shoe was transformed into a series of clutch bags. That's not to suggest that these are direct translations of familiar styles but that they are such good twists on familiar lines and colours that it's too tempting to investigate what these new designs remind you of.
Whether the injected leather mimicking the sole of the shoe is going to take off I'm not so sure (the longer dresses are also a little disappointing) but it's nice to witness someone taking an interesting start point and see how they can produce something in a completely separate way that would look totally out of place if actually paired with a sneaker.
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