15th Annual Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion

Counting such illustrious alumnae as Zac Posen, Phillip Lim, Rebecca Taylor, Eugenia Kim, Duckie Brown, Twinkle by Wenlan, Milly and Shoshanna, among many others, Gen Art's annual Fresh Faces in Fashion launchpad, this year partnered with Rock Media, exposed yet another crop of up-and-comers for one of Fashion Week's refreshing highlights. 

The term "up-and-comer" seems to apply to everyone from the unknown to the overly known, somehow, yet the 10 designers who showcased their Spring 2010 collections at last night's Fresh Faces show truly fit that bill.  Womenswear designers Cloak & Dagger, Duskin, Linus, Min Young Lee, Vicente Villarin, and Yeojin Bae; as well as menswear designer S2VS and accessories designers Dieppa Restrepo, Samma and Wendy Nichol comprised the lineup at the Metropolitan Pavilion, under hostess for the evening, actress Joanna Garcia -- who, if you're not living under a rock, debuted as Nate Archibald's Juliet-figure love interest, Bree Buckley, on Gossip Girl last night.  Besides GG (which, is there a besides? Not to us.), Garcia won a Golden Globe for her role on Reba, and was most recently starring in the CW's show, Privileged.  She's cute!

On to the runway, we were treated to ten looks from each of the designers, who, according to Gen Art's National Director of Events, Andrea Aaberegg, are chosen on the basis of their being relatively unknown, but still with a substantial five years under their professional belts in order to properly utilize Gen Art's forum.  

Cloak & Dagger, designed by Brookelyn Starnes, kicked off the show, and will continue a run as the selected designer to get a free trade show booth from Gen Art partner, The Train.  C&D will be on exhibit for wholesale at The Train from September 20-22 at the Terminal Stores in NYC. 

Each unique collection showed impressive ingenuity, talent and vision, from C&D's snakeskin ikat boyfriend shorts; Duskin's pristine copper paillete draped vest, and Min Young Lee's fantastic styling and sheer leopard prints, and S2VS' line of sailor-inspired menswear (more Popeye than preppy); to Yeojin Bae's 80s prom line-up, including a Pat Field-esque jumbo-Swarovski crystal-encrusted miniskirt that blinged the model's bum all the way down the runway; Streamlined knotted jersey from Linus; and Vicente Villarin's breathtaking mosaic silk jacquard. 

If you're smart, you'll keep your eye on these designers, because if last night's showing was any indication, these fresh faces are heading towards the status of famous faces, or at the very least fashion's faces, very soon. 

Contact Us