LOOKING AT ALEXANDER WANG'S SPRING 2009 COLLECTION.
Alexander Wang dresses the girls who are truly and innately cool: the girls who work the tight jeans and bra-baring over-sized tank tops; the girls who pull off headdresses, and wear ridiculously tight mini dresses with combat boots. For his Spring 2009 RTW collection, the combat boots of seasons past have been traded for street walking black leather heels complete with fringe, chains, and other tough-girl details. The shoes happen to be Wang's first walk into the world of footwear design—five platform styles debut with this collection. And though the over-sized tank tops and tight dress appeal is still there, it's less beanie-wearing street urchin, and more eye-catching downtown street-strutter—all with an athletic edge. The juxtaposition of sweatshirt jersey tops and pants, and silk and sequined shorts is a contradiction that strangely works in a way that is reminiscent of the carefree styles of the early-90s.
The wearability of those pieces may be questionable, and though I don't think most of the models could pull off the signature sweaty, free-spirited, "I haven't showered in four days" look that we have come to expect from Wang, the collection speaks for itself as a sort of progression... from grunge into "grunge does Miami Vice." That means black ripped tank tops paired with a saccharine pink blazer, complete with the sleeves pushed up, and tummy-baring black leather crop tops. In other words, we'll take the black tank tops over the sparkly bodysuit, but will admire them just the same.
Overall the collection seems to represent a refined-though-not-boring new direction for Wang, who has made his name by being a goth-grunge connoisseur, and this time around he showed his growing talent and staying power with a collection that proves he knows how women want to dress, mixing the sexy with his trademark youthful, authentic street style.
Photos courtesy of Style.com
