September 12, 2006
New York City

Designers Julie Chaiken and Jeff Mahshie's success was born out of a pair of pants commonly referred to in the fashion arena as 'Chaiken Pants.'  Now the applauded Chaiken line has branched into swimwear, eveningwear and maternity wear, while becoming a crowd pleaser at Olympus Fashion Week in New York City with their smartly tailored urban designs.  This season the perfectly paired designing twosome showed they still wear the pants with their Spring 2007 Collection in the Atelier of Bryant Park. 

1. Indigo Blue Wide Leg Trousers 2. Royal Rayon Jersey Long V Dress

1. Electric Blue Silk Shirt Dress 2. Navy Rayon Jersey Pullover with Cotton Trousers

Moving up up and away, swelling volume in spunky colors exhibited in tent dresses and pantsuits was Chaiken's primary theme.  Wide-legged trousers in bright indigo blue and a royal rayon jersey long v dress started off the vision.  An electric blue silk shirt dress and royal blue cotton trousers with a jersey pullover were painted from the same color palette.  While a fuchsia silk charmeuse pullover and orange twill sleeveless shirt paired with a fuchsia silk satin tab skirt stood behind Chaiken's bold color choices.  While the jarring crisp colors made for a spirited runway many of the silhouettes were offered in less fierce options such as nude, black and white seen in a white silk charmeuse pullover with paddock trousers and a white and black silk organza halter paired with black cotton full trousers.

1. Fuchsia Silk Charmeuse Pullover 2. Orange Twill Sleeveless Shirt with Fuchsia Silk Satin Skirt

1. White Silk Charmeuse Pullover 2. White & Black Organza Halter with Black Cotton Full Trouser

Blown away by the massive volume in the collection some of the more demure soft designs were lost.  A white and black silk organza tank dress and a teak nude hand painted organza strapless were prime examples. 

1. White & Black Silk Organza Tank Dress 2. Teak & Nude Hand Painted Organza Strapless

Also worth noting, the designing duo left many of the trapeze style dress designs on the drawing board, along with gaudy embellishments and overly complicated prints.  While this made it feasible for the outrageous hues to work with the collection it also allowed us to see more trousers and blouses.  A teak cotton a line jacket with slimming trousers and a black cotton short tuxedo particularly stood out.

1. Teak Cotton A Line Jacket with Trouser 2. Black Cotton Short Tuxedo

Chuck Amos for Bumble and Bumble left hair dangling softly down with a right part.  Some of the hairstyles were disguised under boxy straw hats that were paired with many of the ensembles.  A soft red puckered lip, courtesy of Tom Pecheux and the MAC Pro Team, was the only stand out feature of the light breezy makeup.

Teak Cotton Trench with Full Trouser

Thirty six looks later, the label showed that bigger isn't always better, but in many cases a little super-sizing mixed with moderation never hurt anyone. 

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