New York Fashion Week :: Diesel [The ZOO]

Diesel :: Fall 2006

With those hand painted cherubs and angels looking down on us from their home in the ceiling, the opera house tiered section of standing fashionistas and not one, but two disco balls bookending the whole thing, Diesel was just like it's ballroom venue: loud and grand.

Foreign accents, juxtaposing soccer trainer sneakers with smart blazers, high water pants with tailored turtlenecks, the fashion was defiant. And those were just the attendees! Sunglasses on their heads to give a F#9@ YOU! to the cloudy sky, an international array of Diesel support only upped the anti on the glamour scale.

When curtains parted to reveal a revolving door in front of a hotel facade set, you knew there wasn't going to be any yawning. With the music stylings directly correlating with Debby Harry-Airy locks and thigh high leather boots, the Ballroom Blitz began just like Sweet said it would.

A film noir voice rang through the air over the rock n'roll magnitude sound system, summing up the whole shebang: "Sex, Drugs, Rock n' Roll, Chains, Whips, Chips and Dip..." Was this the voice of denim?

Some of the philosophical questions addressed at the Diesel show included but were not limited to: 1. Can you mix bandannas and ostrich feathers? 2. Satin and sporty caps? 3. Eli Cash from Royal Tenenbaum's Chic with Ninja Headbands? 4. Plunging necks and Male Models? 5. Grace Jones and David Bowie?

Diesel survey says: 1. yes 2. yes 3. yes 4. I'm sorry what did you say? I was looking at your nipple. 5. Duh.

Yes, we know cigarette pants are the "little black dress" of Fall 2006, but Diesel weaves gold into their skinny legged pants and attaches them to one-piece jumpsuits or uses turquoise and red to create Native American patterns fit for non-Natives. Yes we know that I have used the bolero nearly twenty times a day since last Friday, but Diesel's matadors rock boleros in leather.

Like a story with perfect punctuation, font, grammar, and composition, this year's dramatic presentation was complete- with Kabbalah-esque armbands trimming biceps, and Tortilla Flat's metallic colors peaking beneath the blouses. How did they pull off that little bit when the faux-hawk model pretended to answer her phone in the middle of the runway?

What wishes did fair Godfather Diesel make come true? Imaginative menswear, the glamourization of street wear, and an innumerable number of looks distinct from one another. A cardigan for a real man, a pink tie that emasculates somehow. A bustle and a train on a leather dress. Help me here, I'm running out of fingers to count.

Like two fresh menswear designers told me the other day - the first thing they do when they reconstruct vintage clothing is to chop anything below the part of your ribcage that juts out. Well, chop went the Diesel and we're proud to say that they shared their leather bolero with the men.

This egalitarian "Women are fabulous but so are men" show topped off the sweet sundae of fashion with a cherry- a satin red cherry suit for the unafraid forward-thinking man. Like an alternative high school that has cigarette breaks instead of locker breaks, the runway was a variety of loners, pairs and threesomes, sassing with their friends, luxury lunch totes in hand, fat ties 'round the neck, and gold chains and studs anywhere they can fit.

WHAT WILL HIT RETAIL EVERYWHERE: Button down vests have been creeping back for years. Get ready. HYBRIDS: Gutter-punk meets Sexy Italian Socialite. NEW MUST HAVE ACCESSORY FOR FASHIONISTAS: Toddlers. FAVORITE INVENTION: High collar, black leather studded cap sleeves that fit over top anything. BEST HAIR: that shaggy male whose face I couldn't describe to you, because I have yet to see it. BE BITCHY YET COMFORTABLE: Those triangle cylindrical heels save the sexy and tame the pain. OVER THE TOP: Grace Jones jumping from her center front row seat onto the Runway in all black leather, studs, and a hood, treating us to a swing around the revolving door and the pole. They don't call her Grace for nothing. [Xenia Viray] more...