B. Michael America Fall 2014

“Quintessential American”—B Michael’s description of his fall 2014 collection—surely sums up the designer’s fashion feast for next season.  This collection provides selections for almost any occasion, from daywear, to cocktail hour or on to a masquerade ball, for both women and men.

The “Urban Chic”  and “Town and Country” clusters were his daytime wear of dresses, jackets and suits in cashmere, wool jersey and wool boucle, designed for women, who want to be classic and comfortable. Standouts  included a two-piece dress of cashmere and wool with a layered V-shaped collar, and a scarlet red, doubled-faced wool jersey dress with an exaggerated collar jacket.  For the men, one of the standouts was a red brick-colored eight-button suit made with a cashmere and wool blend.

For the “Good Times” cocktail dresses, the designer worked with silk mikado, a silk blend popular for wedding dresses because it is heavier than regular silk, for several dresses. B. Michael added texture to it with embroidery or sometimes using an Italian lace overlay.  One outstanding creation was a lavender floral printed silk mikado with a billow sleeve demi jacket and a ruched hem. B. Michael added dimension and contrast to a black wool crepe sheath by making the empire bodice of embroidered silk mikado, resembling strains of DNA.

For the “Illusion” of eveningwear B. Michael unveiled classic strapless, drop shoulder and off-the-shoulder ball gowns, as well as halter-top and cap sleeve cuts.  The models wore elegant jeweled masks, which added a dramatic dimension to the gowns.  B Michael worked with hammered silk, lacquered-feathered velvet, embroidered silk chiffon, and confetti embroidered silk organza giving birth to beautifully textured creations with rustle and flow.

B. Michael also married black to bronze and used metallic fabrics and embellishments to add light.  Most notable was a black wool crepe low waist gown with a river of bronze metallic boucle flowing down the front of the gown.  Also, a black hammered silk strapless steeple bust gown with confetti embroidered silk organza with a waterfall train made an impression.  A perfect pairing with either of these dresses would be the men’s granite, Italian boucle shawl collar jacket with black silk and wool blended Hollywood trousers.

“Deliberately glamorous evening wear,” B Michael says in his run of show notes, “reminds us of our appetite for luxury … It’s all American.”

—Francesca Simon