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| Via Jak and Jill "Personal Style is innovative yet intimate. It's a reflection of your aesthetic, beliefs, who you stand for and the relationship you have with the world. It has the power to speak volumes about you without having to vocalize a thing " Prabal Guring In honor of tonight's CFDA Fashion Awards I have been wearing my favorite items from the nominees all weekend. There's something about an entire industry coming together and supporting one another that I find touching. The CFDA provides much needed funding and mentoring to young designers. As a result of the CFDA's enormous success similar funds have been established in Paris and Milan, where young design talent typically is not nurtured. It is only fitting that I saved my beloved Proenza Schouler skirt for last.  Photographed by Karl-Edwin Guerre |
Every time I unearth this skirt from my closet I get excited to wear it. I firmly believe that we should only buy items that we love to wear. This skirt is one of those pieces that signifies the start of summer and longer days ahead. When my friend asked to shoot me for a street style piece last summer he was a bit surprised when I came dressed in difficult to shoot white. My response was "but I always wear pieces that I love with a story."
This skirt was shown on the runway in a different color combination and with a few subtle variations. Months later at Proenza Schouler's design studio this version was waiting to make its way into my closet. It had been overlooked because it wasn't the version that went into production. It's always fun to watch fashion people look at the skirt, identify its provenance and then debate whether to ask why they didn't see it on the runway or in stores. I love a unique piece.
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| Via Jak and Jill |
What I love most about Proenza Schouler is that I understand the girl who they are designing for. She's a delicate balance of uptown refinement and downtown art world cool. The Proenza Schouler girl is effortless. The tailoring and construction is impeccable. Each season the designs are more refined, ladylike and grown up, which is logical because the designers are growing up. Yet they have managed to stay true to their aesthetic. I couldn't be happier to see Proenza Schouler take home the evening's top prize- Womenswear Designer of the Year.
