Hey Guys!
Danielle here, filling in for Claire this morning as she conquers London Fashion Week!
New York Fashion Week has come to a close. This has brought both feelings of joy (my poor feet) and sadness (wait, so I can’t sit while new collections are walked out in front of me and a crowd again until September?). Luckily I was able to have singer Gwen Stefani‘s L.A.M.B. presentation as my last Fashion Week experience for Fall 2011.

As I settled into my seat, I couldn’t help but peruse the front row to spot fashion greats such as Essence.com Managing Editor Emil Wilbekin, ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee; stylists du jour June Ambrose, Memsor Kamarake, and Robert Verdi; and makeup artist and TV personality Jay Manuel.

Then the plastic was peeled back off the runway, the lights dimmed, and the show began.

And quite a show it was. The looks were shown in six groups: Soldier Girls, Ragga Muffin Girls, London Girls, Buffalo Girls, Mod Girls, and Glamour Girls. Each group marched down the runway with their own themed mash-up of popular music.

Soldier Girls.

I had to note at first a perhaps slight case of narcissism as all of the models in this group were bleach-blonde, menswear and leather harness wearing clones of the former No Doubt member.

But Stefani’s coolness is so great you want it to be duplicated. Khaki wrap trench coats, cavalry twill menswear cropped pants, ties, shearling flight jackets, and Audrey Hepburn-esque khaki headscarves were shown on models who lined up in a single row in what else, military style, before taking their individual walks down the runway.

Ragga Muffin Girls.

Gwen’s love affair with Jamaica is no secret (c’mon, her son’s name is Kingston after all). She sent the mostly Black models in this group down the runway in blends of menswear inspired shirts, Navajo inspired prints (a mish-mash of cultures?), and accessorized with Rasta hats.

London Girls.

The New Power Generation meets The Beatles, if you will.

Plaid shift dresses, plaid pants, and asymmetrical boy cuts take you right where I suppose Gwen intended.

It works.

Buffalo Girls.

Menswear mixed with some Native American-inspired prints.

Mod Girls.

Continuing with her trends through time theme, Stefani took it to 60s mod.

Glamour Girls.

The show ended with 70s-inspired glamour in gowns with draping details.

Overall, I loved how Stefani took elements from fashion history and showed an appreciation of different cultures all while keeping the looks current. She also had one of the more diverse lineup of models, though they were mostly grouped together by race. The collection has a bit of something for everyone’s personal style even if most of it looks like it came from Gwen Stefani’s closet.

What do you think of L.A.M.B.?
~Danielle
Images via Style.com