Lingerie Fashion Week Day 1: FYI by Dani Read

Y’all, I never in a million years thought I’d ever be at a fashion show.  No way.  I like to think I have a strong sense of personal style (feminine, classic, structured, blah blah), but fashionable?  Not as such.  On the train on the way to Metropolitan Pavilion, I decided that everyone would A) judge, B) hate, and C) ignore me.  My brain, she is so unfun sometimes.

Naturally, reality played out far differently than my imagination predicted, and the evening was fun, with a great deal of excitement and anticipation (this is the first ever New York Lingerie Fashion Week).  Many people seemed as uncertain and “what is going on and where do I go?” as I did, so I fit right in.  Then when it came time to take our seats I realized I was seated in the front row right in front of the photographers and as such had one of the best seats in the house, and if you think that didn’t go to my head and make me feel like I was Hot Stuff, you are incorrect.  I chatted up Luiz and Mozz from the Lingerie Journal, and Mozz shared with me that he’d never worked in a more welcoming and enthusiastic industry than the lingerie industry.  I mean, lingerie can’t help but be a little bit fun, right?  Think of what we call our underwear: unmentionables, naughties, delicates, frills, and what we do with it: striptease, seduce, entice– much of the language used with respect to lingerie conjures up a sense of mystery, of sexiness, of power play, and of womanliness.

With that in mind, I can’t imagine a better opening show than the “Isis” Autumn 2013 collection from FYI by Dani Read.  I wasn’t familiar with the brand before I did some frantic Googling this week (A+ journalism, right there), so I came in with few preconceptions.  To say I was delighted with the collection would be an understatement.  Rendered in shades of black, brown, and gold, with a stunning white finale, the collection takes its names from gods and mythological figures from around the world, with distinct references especially to Ancient Rome and Egypt.

The slogan “Women Are Weapons” reverberated throughout the collection.  Each look played with the juxtaposition between soft/silky and gleaming/deadly: a short silk robe topped with a golden headdress and murderous heels, a smooth brown molded bra paired with studded gloves and a harness, a black silk chiffon babydoll spiked with a fearsome exposed zipper and paired with a bit gag, a softly textured all-black ensemble punctuated by a gold chain waspie.  The models (Things I Learned: Do Not Want To Be A Lingerie Model.  Hi madam, don’t mind me, I’ll just take a picture of you while you’re naked and put it on the internet) all sported black hearts painted on their chests and dramatic cat’s-eye makeup, with fierce, structured coiffures and braids.   Below are some of my other favorite looks:

Favorite looks?  It’s a tie between the very first look of the evening and the very last.

The first look:

Looking at that absolutely divine back, its multiple straps accented with a gold chain, takes me on a slight tangent, so bear with me.  In case it wasn’t readily apparent, FYI by Dani Read is for a svelter frame than Sweets’.  That’s totally awesome; I know a bunch of ladies in my pole dancing classes who would look achingly glorious in any of these ensembles.  I only mention that it’s not for full busts in order to plant seeds in full-bust designers’ minds: look at the edginess, the play of hard and soft, the severity and streamlined silhouettes.  Full-bust lines most often feature lace and frills and embroidery (which, as a total priss, I’m COOL WITH), but sometimes I’m struck by how the full-bust market can relegate its customers to a purely decorative realm.  Yes, many busty figures look and feel exquisite in lace, ruffles, satin, corsets, and more classic lingerie styles.  Pin-Up photography and fashion is as popular as ever, and with good reason.  But not all women feel well-suited to overtly girly shapes and styles,  and furthermore women are complex!  We come in shades of light and dark, our moods and wants and needs are unfixed and changeable.  One day you might wake up and need to be a goddess, an idol, a terror, something a little more eternal, a little more dangerous.  You might need to dazzle someone with your power.  How extraordinary would it be to come across designs in the full-bust (and full-figure!) markets with this kind of edge?

Finally, the closing look.  The brief pictured below comes in black and white, and it features five feet of silk ties to wrap around the waist, the wrist, or a partner.  This model OWNED the runway.  She was such a fucking goddess:

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the weekend has in store!  Time constraints may not allow me to post as promptly as this, but I’ll share some images on Facebook and Instagram, and there will be lots of posts to come in the following week.

What do you think of FYI by Dani Read?  Is this high-fashion, edgy lingerie appealing to you, or do you prefer the sweet lace and frills?

February 23, 2013 by Sweets | 9 Comments