AUCKLAND: New Zealand womenswear designer Karen Walker has scored an influential thumbs up.
The designer's autumn/winter 2008 collection, showcased at New York Fashion Week on February 5, was described in glowing terms by one of the most powerful fashion critics in the world - style.com.
Dubbed Angel and inspired by Edwardian childrenswear and dolls' clothes, the collection included frilled cotton dresses, military jackets and miniature coats in vivid shades of scarlet and cobalt. Walker's signature floral prints made a return to the runway along with grungie flannel prints and lace detailing.
Style.com critic Meenal Mistry described the ecclectic collection as an ode to Walker's talent as a "mix master" and as true to a "vision that is wholly her own". Mistry also gave a nod to Walker's more refined pieces, which included her "terrific chic" black textured silk sheath with ruffled shoulders.
"The designer's turn-of-the-century-meets-street look had a youthquake vibe spanning decades, weaving in both sweetness and grooviness from the sixties and the layered, stripey tee-and-thermal insouciance of nineties grunge," Mistry wrote.
Mistry capped off her review by mentioning the recent opening of Walker's pop-up store in East Village boutique Den.
"With the recent opening...New York may soon find that it hearts Karen Walker."
• For a complete overview of Walker's collection, click on to Ragtrader's Look Book section.