NY FALL 2010: VPL by Victoria Bartlett

VPL by Victoria Bartlett
Benjamin Le Hay for RunwayResource.net

With nearly 60 looks, Victoria Bartlett had plenty to say with her fall/winter 2010 collection. While the show was titled “Shadows,” no one theme seemed evident, as the clothes wandered somewhere between nomadic Sahara and apocalyptic beach. In the beginning, Bartlett hid bras, leggings and undies under coats, vests, shift dresses and multi-color bandage bodysuits. The palette dabbled in tawny, seal brown, putty, nude, gold, camel, sea, dull violet and gray. She used a mélange of leather, jersey, wool, mohair, cotton and silk materials that were fluidly blended, layered and draped together. There were fun accessories such as rope and leather chain-link belts and bracelets. A provocative coal silhouette shift dress over a purple fractional bra with fake tan, twisted gloves and taupe bandage boots worked well.

There was plenty of subdued sheen and sparkle with a silver, free fall cardigan, matched with a silver patch, bandage bra, tar fragment pants and purple bandage boots. Jaclyn Mayer’s Orly Genger jewelry complimented the VPL garments beautifully.

Other successful looks included a military torsion tunic with a green warmer and military boots, paired with a gold tiered jacket. Towards the end — which was a parade of bodysuits and bandage—highpoints included a long leg, braided bodysuit in a hodgepodge of camel and sand colors; and an alchemy hair corset and bodysuit, both weaved in plums and pewter. Although there was a lot to take in, these contemporarily ethnic pieces would mix and match well together, or hold their own as separates.