New York Fashion Week: Vena Cava designers say ‘Viva the 1990s’

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With a ‘zine at every seat and remixed grunge on the soundtrack, Vena Cava designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock were saying ‘Viva the 1990s’ with their fall 2011 collection.

The ‘zine waxed nostalgic for Contempo Casuals, Judy’s, Andre Agassi’s mullet, pagers, Filofaxes and Kriss Kross.

And you could see the references to Contempo, Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan and others on the runway, in the black-and-white polka dot palazzo pants; square-neck jersey tube dress; off-the-shoulder tops; and leather jackets with supersized sleeves, which had the look of a flea market find.

No doubt, the twentysomething designers, who are native Angelenos, were reminiscing about their formative fashion years with this collection. But while it had a heavy dose of vintage cool, it didn’t have many clothes that flattered, even on the pin-thin models. (The stringy hair didn’t help.)

And in the end, this collection felt more like a styling exercise than a designing one.

-- Booth Moore in New York

Vena Cava Fall-Winter 2011 runway collection photo gallery