Must Have’s from 2016 PHXFW’s Emerging Designers

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A couple weekends ago, October 13th to October 15th, I attended the Valley’s biggest fashion event of the year, Phoenix Fashion Week. This was my third year attending, and as always I love talking about the Fashion Designers who put their blood, sweat and tears into the collections that graced the runway. Each year I find the best fashion and have created lasting relationships with the designers and staff at Phoenix Fashion Week. It’s so cool to see what amazing things that each of the designers are doing now, but more on that later! (Keep an eye out for the “where are they now” blog post later in the month.)

Today I’m highlighting the must have’s from my favorite emerging designers at Phoenix Fashion Week 2016.

The show kicked off on Thursday, October 13th with Lifestyle Designers. The winning lifestyle designer and my favorite for the evening is Isy B. from the Cayman Islands. The lifestyle that the Isy B. brand stands for is luxury resort wear. The designer, Isy, offers a mixture of swimwear, cover-ups, long flowy and short dresses, as well as separates. Like you would imagine, there are many bright colors offered in her collection, like orange-reds, yellow, pops of turquoise along with whites and prints. I loved all of the pieces! Personally, I’m looking for flattering cuts that are different and stand out among the rest as well as interesting prints. Something else that is very important to me is versatility in pieces that can be worn with swimwear or worn by themselves, which Isy delivered. Photos provided by Phoenix Fashion Week.

Another designer to mention from Thursday night is Forgiven Love. Although I don’t typically talk about menswear on The Foxy Kat, I was impressed by the designer for his story and the styling that was shown for his collection. For his finale video, please click here.

Contemporary designers showed their collections on Friday, October 14th and I had two favorites from this night, Amanda Casarez from Washington D.C. and Ricci JvR from Cape Town, South Africa. From the PHXFW 2016 designer preview that I saw at the Shop Garment District event at the Moxy Tempe a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised by what Amanda Casarez sent down the runway. I was impressed by her at the Shop Garment District, but on Friday I thought that the full collection looked a bit more elevated. It is fashion forward and a bit more sexy. Let’s just say that I like the risqué looks that I saw. (Unfortunately, you cannot see the back of the pieces in the photos below, which is where more skin was shown.) I especially loved how she incorporated gorgeous high necklines with loose fitting dresses and gave it a fun surprise with a keyhole in the back to show off a little skin. The keyhole was different from others that I’ve seen. It was the perfect amount of skin to balance the look. I love how she plays with openness in her designs to show skin in a unique way. You can tell that she has a variety of different techniques under her belt. I’m so excited to see this brand grow! For the Amanda Casarez finale video, please click here. Photos provided by Phoenix Fashion Week.

The second favorite of the night was Ricci JvR. Similar to my reaction to Amanda Casarez’ collection, I was surprised by the amount of street wear that was shown based on what I saw at the Shop Garment District event. It had a nice transition from street wear to night wear. My favorites are the rose gold sequin dress, the cute caped romper and the short and long dresses that have a onesie underneath. I love the uniqueness that she creates with open backs. Photos provided by Phoenix Fashion Week.

The final night is Couture designers. Saturday night is always my favorite! Cosmogyral started the show and left a lasting impression on me. It’s really all I can think about, still. I love romantic styles, especially if they are not only sweet, but also a little sexy. The designer, Jenine Nerecina, showed this balance perfectly. As you would imagine from a couture designer, she showed long gowns, my favorite, but also showed versatility with short dresses, caplets, jackets, separates, etc. I love how she plays with sheer materials and carefully placing sparkle and beading detail to create texture, but not over designing the delicate pieces. The raw stone crowns added a great feel to the collection as did the feather caplets. Not only did I love the long gowns, I also loved the off the shoulder crop top. In addition to the amazing collection, Cosmogyral included three plus size models in her runway show, which is the first time in Phoenix Fashion Week history. Thank you, Cosmogyral, for making history and for making clothes for every body. For the Cosmogyral finale video, please click here. Photos below are taken by James Almanza.

The couture winner of the evening was Barbara Bultman, who was also a favorite of mine. Cosmogyral showed the soft side of fashion, while Barbara Bultman showed the hard side, which of course I love both. Her collection is focused on leather and fringe. As a whole I found it to be very modern and versatile. She showed fringe leather neckwear, dresses, pants, and crop tops, all with interesting cuts and shapes. My favorites are the light pink romper and the ombré dresses. For the Barbara Bultman finale video, please click here. Photos below are taken by James Almanza.

For more of the designer’s finale videos, please go to my YouTube channel here.

Be you, bravely.

The Foxy Kat

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