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Downtown Funky
in New York City

BY Heather Harlan

From tight, shimmery men’s capri pants to elegant beaded evening gowns, Asian American designers at this year’s 7th on Sixth Spring 2001 fashion shows offered a diverse array of high glamour, classic sportswear and downtown funk. Turn the page to see a sampling of what’s to come next season.

Melanie Knauss models one of Anand Jon's creations on the runway

Indian American designer Anand Jon kicked off his show with a jolt of star power and bright, shimmering color, with Elizabeth Jagger strutting down the runway in a pair of sea-blue Banjara brocade hot pants and a sexy tie-back top. A few models later, Donald Trump’s girlfriend, Melanie Knauss, appeared in a pearlized leather jacket and pants glittering with Swarovski crystals. Singer Cherokee showed up later in a tan suede tie-back top and wave-blue Banjara pants. Other looks followed Jon’s signature use of lavish Indian fabrics sprinkled with Asian religious symbols here and there. The yin yang symbol, in particular, showed up more times than not, including on a pink skirt and top set, and a blue embroidered evening dress. Hand-beaded lotus flowers adorned a white silk dress, and Indian Zardusi artwork accented several outfits.

Malaysian-born designer Yeohlee Teng highlighted her fabric of choice—mostly cotton, linen and silk, and usual neutral tones —tan, khaki, black, white and brown—for her spring collection. Shades of bright orange and sunflower yellow, however, added a splash of summer to several looks, including a cotton diamond-shaped raincoat and a linen sundress. Outerwear pieces were constructed in kimono shape, including a tan and maroon silk check zigzag coat and a khaki cotton pique jacket. There was also a white silk tulip jacket worn with an orange wool and linen sarong. For the beach or pool, there was swimwear, including a silk seersucker bikini with matching scarf sarong. A lace choli top was made from gold Chantilly lace and worn with a Merlot-colored silk charmeuse sarong and bikini.

Anna Sui showed an eclectic mix with influences ranging the decadence of the early ‘80s to African-inspired textiles. “It was the Duchess of Windsor travels to Africa, then comes to New York where she ends up at the Mudd Club,” Sui told reporters after the show. Stretch black jersey dominated the collection and tops were slashed, wrapped, tied and cut asymmetrically. A black studded bra was worn with embroidered and studded African-print pants. The standouts included an orange chiffon zebra print streamer dress and an African-print silk chiffon shirtdress with a pink lace petticoat. There was also a brown and gold knit tank with a brown silk crêpe deco tech print pleated skirt.

Margie Tsai's Designs incorporate this season's striped-top trend

Margie Tsai, in contrast, showed lots of looks suitable for day as well as evening with clean lines and asymmetrical and bias cuts. Capri-length pants were paired with cotton pleated tops. Skirts were also pleated. To ward off the chill of early spring, there were wool jersey dresses and separates in navy and beige, and a cotton bouclé funnel neck dress. Like many other designers, Tsai seemed to have picked up on the trend towards stripes—she had a striped sequined skirt worn with a white fringe top.

Hong Kong-born Vivienne Tam, who usually draws on her Chinese heritage as a primary source of inspiration, this year instead shifted her major point of reference to her current home: New York City . “Many of the prints and patterns in the collection are the result of the views from my terrace,” Tam said. “I love watching the light shimmering as it plays with the architectural corners and angles of buildings against a grey and bluish evening sky.” A cascading black and white net print dress was inspired by the art deco architecture of the Chrysler building; city lights were mimicked with bold linear sequined patterns streaking down skirts; a pink metallic dress called to mind sidewalks glittering under the pink glow of street lamps. Although the skyline of New York City inspired Tam’s dominant theme, she doesn’t entirely forget her roots, as seen in a collection of black cotton pants, skirts and tees embroidered with rows of Chinese characters.

David Chu’s Nautica sportswear line featured classic men’s looks with a techno twist. Suit separates and sweaters were shown in cotton, linen and blended fabrics. The palette was neutral, but occasionally accented by flashes of orange and ice blue. Another group of printed weekend-wear was done in a style that Chu dubbed “acid-preppy:” bold woven plaids inspired by the kitschy, preppy style of Palm Springs, mixed with acid-colored tee-shirts and pants. Exotic tropical prints from South America and Polynesia were paired with crewneck shirts and tanks made out of neoprene, a traditional scuba-gear fabric. There was also authentic performance sailing wear that Chu said were “equally at home on the deck of a racing yacht or on the streets of Manhattan.”

Menswear designer Alan Truong, on the other hand, showed a collection that probably wouldn’t work on a sailing ship, but might just be the thing for an urban nightclub. The designer offered up tight black pants with pink glitter fabric asymmetrically sewn at the waist in a way that gave the illusion that the they were sliding off, revealing the pink glitter “underwear,” complete with appliqued white stars. Cropped pants took up the scene as well, falling at times just below the knees, or grazing the ankles. Most fabrics had a slight sheen or iridescence. Shorts were very short and shirts were very sheer.