Designer Leanne Marshall marked her return to the NYFW calendar with a show on the ice in Bryant Park. Marshall showed her collection of electric bright, flowy ensembles on a cast of 7 figure skaters who moved about the ice in stunning grace with her collection perfectly marrying to their every move. Marshall called this showing a return to where her New York fashion journey began, as she showed her collection for Project Runway Season 5, a collection that not only won her the coveted prize, but launched her on a fashionable trajectory that many would envy.
Present in the collection was Marshall’s trademark undulating layers that flipped back & forth as the skaters made their way around the ice adding another layer of rhythm to the graceful play between the garment & the skater. The designer says she was inspired to create this collection as a result of her recent obsession with figure skating, which she partakes in as often as she can in Bryant Park before going into work in her nearby atelier. She started bringing some of her dresses to the rink to see how they’d react to being worn on the ice & the lightbulb for this show went off.
Remove the leotards from the pieces Marshall showed, & the result is a collection of truly stunning, lightweight, fashionable confections that will likely prove as beautiful on a red carpet or a night out on the town as they are on the ice. Marshall has found considerable success in the bridal world since her time on Project Runway & so many of the dramatic, romantic details that make her collection of bridal so alluring shine through in this collection which is decidedly runway in nature.
We say bravo (pun NOT intended, but it made us smile) to her effort! So happy Leanne Marshall is back… she’s a talent that NYFW so desperately needs…