Amanda Lew Kee returns to LG Fashion Week, shocks with orange

Amanda Lew Kee returns to LG Fashion Week, shocks with orange

Black-on-black is Lew Kee's bread and butter (Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

If there was one show we were excited for this fashion week, it was Amanda Lew Kee’s sophomore outing on Friday night. As people settled into their seats, Robin Kay was spotted trilling about; Bernadette Morra, Susie Sheffman and Wesley Badanjak were presented with fluorescent rolling suitcases; and Jay Strut was caught slumming it in the second row. Lew Kee has been the talk of the town, and with celebutantes (sadly, none were present) wearing her garb on red carpets and with a mention in Nylon magazine, it seemed like the it-girl—known for her sky blue lips—could do no wrong. Our full coverage, after the jump.

See Amanda Lew Kee’s fall/winter 2011 collection »

The show began on a sombre note, with Für Elise spilling over the audience as a model in a black short-sleeved goat-hair coat made her way down the runway. A series of signature black-on-black looks followed—in velvet, chiffon and what appeared to be bouclé—with tailored silhouettes and exposed zipper detailing. We were stricken with a memory of Chanel from a sparkly black mohair coat, but it was the cropped tops in fabric reminiscent of an oil spill that had more of the urban misfit attitude we were looking for.

Kimono-inspired blouses reminded us a little too much of looks we’ve seen from Louis Vuitton’s S/S 2011 runway.  Dresses made of shredded fabric, somewhere between mohair and tin foil, were perplexing at first—on second thought, though, we appreciated the risk (but recoiled at the orange). Lew Kee’s all-black dresses were by far the most desirable pieces of the lot and we’re chomping at the bit to get our hands on one particular sheer striped dress.

We admire Lew Kee’s colour gambles, but her overall vision didn’t seem to be quite as coherent as past showings, this time taking us on a journey from witchy vibes to Logan’s Run to Christmas morning. As the humble designer took her bow sans lipstick, the whole affair left us feeling a little blue.