A BEAUTIFUL, ARCHITECTURAL APPROACH TO RED CARPET DRESSING IN HER FASHION WEEK DEBUT

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks lasts a very carefully considered, specific amount of time:  Thursday through Thursday.  But if you’re lucky enough to be invited to one of the presentations just outside those strict parameters, don’t turn down the opportunity.  You could discover something amazing.

This season, on a cold, cold day way over on the West Side of Manhattan, Rita Vinieris debuted her evening wear collection at the Baryshnikov Center, and I’m so happy I started my Fashion Week a day early.

There would be plenty of lovely, red-carpet-ready looks to come down the catwalk over the next week, but this was truly special.  Vinieris is best known as a wedding dress designer, for her company Rivini, so she’s used to creating “pretty”.  But her evening wear is stunning.  The clean lines and architectural scope combine with built-in glamour and full-out elegance.

These dresses are gorgeous from the front, and they’re every bit as fascinating walking away. And her imaginative combination of textures, colors and sparkle just added to the jaw-dropping structure of her dresses.

It was right, of course, to move from wedding to red carpet.  I can’t wait to see what Rita Vinieris does next.

Photography: Anton Brookes