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Alexander Wang: Body Con from Boy Wonder

The hippest new boy wonder in Manhattan fashion is Alexander Wang. His latest collection staged Saturday, Feb. 14, was an ode to “body con”, which is fashion lingo for body conscious clothes.

Though he has probably created the most buzz from his ironically loose fit T-shirts and T-shirt mini-dresses, Wang’s collection for fall 2009 was all about streamlined party rocker wear; high octane takes for self-confident women who want edge and chic in equal measures.

Staged before an audience featuring all of fashion’s top critics in from Europe, the show earned huge applause when the designer took his bow before a packed crowd of approximately 1,500.

Judging from this outing, Wang, 25, is clearly a very talented designer. While as a tailor and draper he is still on something of a learning curve, one could enjoy these takes on night-prowling fashion, whether excellent matador pants with studded trim, hip curving off-the-shoulder jackets or the elongated ski pants that made up most of his trousers.

Plus, young Wang cuts a mean dress – from one-shouldered sizzlers in soft poplins to a series of great cocktail dresses in high-tech finished silk jerseys.

“I liked it a lot, particularly those dresses at the end, especially the purple bandage number,” enthused singer Roisin Murphy, as she dashed out of the show.

Perhaps his best ideas were the savvy way he combined fabrics, finishes and surfaces – geometric jacquard with kidskin, or ribbed leather with metallic croc. His trims had far too many shaggy edges and the show might have benefitted from fewer Peruvian hats and biker shorts. That said, his casting was impeccable and one could clearly see that the runway girls really enjoyed wearing the clothes.

		* Thom Browne Spring 2014 * Delpozo Spring 2014