Catwalk Sidewalk

King Collective took a stroll on the Catwalk Sidewalk in the Garment District this morning, admiring a public art installation mixing the conceptual and the sartorial. The Fashion Center organized a display of 32 mannequins along the public plazas of Broadway between Herald Square and Times Square, aimed at bringing fashion to the masses and promoting the local fashion industry. Each mannequin featured an outfit designed by notable New York fashion designers such as iconic veterans of the scene Michael Kors, Diane Von Furstenberg, and Donna Karan, fashion’s newest favorites Prabal Gurung and Jason Wu, and tomorrow’s most promising designers from FIT and Parsons, the design teams of Christopher Ciaccia & Ariel Penzer and Emily Saunders & Niyati Karwat, respectively. Some created clothes fit for models of either chrome or flesh, such as Donna Karan’s strapless dress with a black and white print of New York City scenery or Badgeley Mischka’s empire-waisted gown of elegant cream gauze, golden embroidery, and weather-resistant sequins. Others took advantage of their metallic medium such as Diane von Furstenberg’s mannequin, emblazoned with a purple leopard print reminiscent of her Resort 2010 collection, and Thom Browne’s seashell-encrusted figure, painted a crisp summer white except for a red and blue arm band. Among the most eye-catching creations was Elie Tahari’s glass and bronze metal showstopper, perhaps a reference to New York’s titanic and impressive skyline constructed of steel limbs and windowpanes. This exhibit will be open until September 3, to tide over your fashion cravings until New York Fashion Week arrives. For more information, see http://www.fashioncenter.com/neighborhood/sidewalk-catwalk/.

Michael Kors

Diane Von Furstenberg

Donna Karan

Prabal Gurung

Elie Tahari

Badgley Mischka

 Thom Browne