Last night was the annual up and coming Moda Next designer showcase for Fashion Week, highlighting the best the city has to offer in sartorial savvy.  Five designers presented their work: Joey Ramirez with Jose Ramirez Designs, Christian Alonzo with ’91 Authentic, Valerie Perez with Verseau, Bruno Horwath with Ala Verb, and Blanquita Sullivan with Bonjour Biqui.  I wish the movement, tailoring, and intricate details of each piece could come across in photos, but it simply doesn’t do it justice.  You had to be there in person to fully appreciate the talent this city is producing.

Joey Ramirez Moda Next

Joey put together a feminine yet crisp line with sharp tailoring and pops of turquoise throughout a predominately black and white show.  This leather crop top with flowing maxi skirt stole the show, though, and it was all anyone could talk about afterwards.  Add pockets to the mix and you’ve got a winner.  I appreciated Joey’s attention to details as well with shoulder embellishments, off-the-shoulder dresses, and wearable fabrics.

Valerie Perez Moda Next

If the name Valerie Perez sounds familiar, you may remember her feature on Haute in Texas way back in the day.  Valerie’s line, Verseau has done a whole lot of growing up since then, and it showed in the flirty shapes, luxe fabrics, and day-to-night appeal.  This little red number was my personal favorite, with mesh draping along the sides that achieved the impossible balance of adding movement to the piece without bulking up the model’s hips.  Valerie also featured shimmering cocktail dresses, tailored workwear, and edgier cuts that show she’s ready to design for the serious woman as well as the fun-loving girl.

Blanquita Sullivan Moda Next

{Photo Credit: Rocio Chavez, Your Sassy Self}

My phone died right before Blanquita’s presentation, which meant I was able to fully enjoy the presentation live.  However, it also meant I had nothing to share with you all! Thank goodness my friend Rocio with Your Sassy Self was there and was kind enough to let me use one of her shots.  This was my favorite collection of the evening simply for the fact that it felt Blanquita was able to achieve a true sense of whimsy in her designs.  The creativity skyrocketed with handpainted dresses, lace, and unique lines stealing the show.  It’s no surprise that Blanquita’s tailoring (at least to my untrained eye) appeared to be the best of the best, since she won the designer competition last year.  Her designs had that unique quality of transporting you to another time and place while still feeling fresh and completely wearable for the modern day woman.  Props as well for utilizing models of varying shapes and age ranges!

My one complaint for the show were the two “urban wear” collections, ’91 Authentic and Ala Verb.  While I understand that men’s clothing and street wear will never possess the same straightforward beauty that a dress collection will, I still think there was a lack of ingenuity in the designs.  Having a logo is one thing.  Putting that logo on every single surface of every single piece and calling it fashion is something entirely different.  It may be the créme de la créme for some tastes, but for me it fell a bit flat.  However, I applaud all the designers for putting their collections in to the world for all to see.  That takes guts and hours of preparation, so no matter the final results a great achievement has taken place!

Were you there last night as well? Tell me your thoughts!

XO,

A

P.S. I am a part of the blogger network for Fashion Week, as well as on the planning committee.  Don’t worry thought, all opinions are my own!