Morgane Le Fay: AW09

Talk about starting off Fashion Week with a stunner. Friday morning, I trotted off to Wooster St. for Morgane Le Fay's AW09 show. The local was a lovely space on Wooster - a clear glass storefront that opened into a warmly lit space, with a lovely trapeze canopy hanging from the ceiling.

Morgane Le Fay is a fashion house founded in 1982 by Liliana and Carlos Casabal. Liliana, a self-taught designer who has created wistful, evocative pieces for the likes of Bjork and SJP did not fail to impress and set the pace for the season in this small, intimate showing of her recent collection.

The pieces themselves were apropo to their labels moniker: if one word resonated to me throughout the show, it was "fae." But this wasn't your lithe little sprite balancing on a dewdrop: these were ethereal pieces that were as poignant in their fantasy as their sobriety. Filmy dresses were grounded by no-nonsense military-inspired boots and severe black coats, while more straight-laced outfits were given that whimsical touch with well placed feathers or a dash of fur. A rather airy collection was winterized with a serious muted color palette. This is where Casabal's true genius shines: the ability to anchor her ethereal garments with in strong elements of reality, preserving them from being mere flights of fancy but strong, powerful pieces that hearken another realm.



I wish I could put into words how well these pieces move - a majority were a visual feast from all 360 degrees. Again, this is where the Casabals' intelligence in the field shone through in their display: rather than the rigid back-and-forth strut of the standard runway, MLF's show had the models' moving in a twisting sphere around one another, allowing for numerous perspectives generally lost in the standard format.



More than anything, the pieces were marvels of drapery, whose backs were often as fabulous (if not more so) than their fronts. This was just one example of the exquisite surprises this collection contained. A plain frock would stun with a long train; rigid hoop skirts were worn under translucent, diaphanous fabrics, and a smattering of feathers and fur added the perfect touch to delight the eye.



It's a surprising thing to be able to say this about the first collection of the season - but I can say with a clear conscience that Morgan Le Fay's collection will be a sure favorite for me, plain and simple. The bar has been raised, and I am in bliss.