On a windy day in late March (March 26th, to be exact), I took a little trip down to Greene Street in SoHo to have a private press preview of Michael Angel’s Fall 2012 collection. I’d seen the lookbook before I went, and what I saw I really liked. Still, I had no idea what I was walking into. Literally. I couldn’t find the building for a solid three minutes before I saw the big ol’ 65 staring right at me. Good job.
Once I went up the stairs of an art gallery and finally entered the correct room, I was greeted by an Australian man and an Australian woman. The room was large, but its size was somewhat imperceptible due to the massive amounts of fabric, materials and clothing that took up the majority of the space. The woman told me that Angel’s inspiration for the collection was freedom—a whimsical theme that presumably influenced the equally whimsical prints. The key elements were box pleats and print- and textile-mixing (especially within the same garment) with some experimentation with double-felted wool coats and chunkylicious (and I mean that literally; those were some hefty knits) sweaters. According to style.com, Angel said he wanted the prints to look like feathers, but also “look mechanical and tough, like shards of razors.”This brings to mind the classic hard-and-soft contrast that designers use so often. But Angel’s prints were anything but classic; some of them reminded me of Viktor Luna of Project Runway’s spring 2012 collection, but that’s the closest comparison I could draw. Which is good. Snaps for Michael for originality!
Once I’d been shown the best pieces, I set down my humongo backpack, pulled out my camera and set to work, work here not really meaning work. I was told to leaf through the racks and take as many pictures as I wanted, which I did without hesitation. After approximately thirty minutes of manhandling (in the most gentle and least harmful way possible) every garment on those hangers, I’d decided on my favorite pieces from the collection. Wanna know what they are? I mean, I’m going to tell you anyway, so… (Pictures of the following pieces are to the left (to the left, everything you own in a box to the left).)
The woman who showed me the collection told me that this was the first time Angel did t-shirts, and he was quite successful in this endeavor if I do say so myself. Which I do, ‘cause I just did. My favorite was a double side tee: mint green on the front, heather gray on the back. Hey, it’s like a mullet! Party in the front, business in the back. Another one of mah faves is the best-selling dress, a shift dress with a box-pleated A-line skirt with a multitude of prints on it. The cray-cray patterns allow the silhouette to be simple. I’m also kind of in love with anything knitted (I go to SOA every other Thursday night to help me sort out my issues—Sweater Obsessors Anonymous), so of course I was tempted to thrown on that twenty million pound gray sweater (not even kidding: I tried to hold up the hanger to get a better picture and I couldn’t even lift it) and run out of there like Usain Bolt, but my conscience told me that would be frowned upon by society. Shucks. I also loved the garments that had little ribbed knitted turtlenecks. Speaking of outerwear, which we were a few sentences ago, I was also really digging the wool varsity jacket. It was gray and black with cool zipper details and a really boxy cut. It was as perfect as it sounds. Last but not least was an incredible open-back printed dress. I love me a good open-back dress. And ice cream. But that’s irrelevant.
I suggest you check out Michael Angel’s slammin’ lookbook featuring a gorgeous model and gorgeous clothing. Sounds like a fun time, no? Yes.
Lookbook photos courtesy of style.com; all other photos taken by Odelia Kaly
by Odelia Kaly
