Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week S/S 11 fittingly concluded Thursday night at Pier 59 with the Native Son S/S 11 presentation. There had been plenty of buzz around this show that featured six boys from Ford Men including Aiden Andrews, Bobby Nicholas, Isaac Carew, C.J. Hancock, Isaac Weber, and AJ Abualrub as cast by photographer Christian Rios.  Christian also shot the most recent Native Son lookbook featuring Bobby Nicholas.  Such was the presence of Ford Men that Aiden Andrews opened the show and AJ Abualrub closed it.  Having caught what might very well have been the last cab in Manhattan before a storm of near biblical proportion unleashed its wrath, the Ford Models Blog was not only dry but also fortunate to make it to Chelsea Piers in time to see the third Native Son collection presented.

The collection drew inspiration from the Erich Fromm quotation, “The danger of the past was that man became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots.” With one eye on the past and the other on the future Native Son S/S 11 made full use of shimmery pixxelated fabrics and the occasional if not slightly awkward Sam Browne belt (intentionally worn on the left shoulder). There was a touch of Checkpoint Charlie about the overall looks, but the timeless cut of the garments stood out as something both sexy and very wearable today.

Native Son by Kyle Fitzgibbons is stocked amongst others by Opening Ceremony in New York and Los Angeles. Please visit Native Son online to see more from their collections.

Full Native Son S/S 11 credits include: Designer, Kyle Fitzgibbons; Stylist, Raul Guerrero; Grooming, Sara Wilson; Casting, Christian Rios; Location, Pier 59 Studios.

For a show that featured Ford’s Karmen Pedaru, Kate Kosushkina, Kelly Moreira, Ford Men’s Aiden Andrews, and Ian O’Brien and the author wearing agent credentials backstage, one would think the Ford Models Blog would have gotten closer to the Marc by Marc Jacobs S/S 11 collection presentation at the Park Avenue Armory than it actually did. The discipline and organization of the Marc Jacobs must be lauded — no one quite matches the production of the nine times CFDA winner. The Ford Models Blog was grateful to even see the show and finally snap a few pictures of Aiden Andrews in the mix zone, but wasn’t allowed much more of a sniff than that. Aiden could not have been more generous with his time than he was in between changing into his Marc by Marc skivvies and his first look and later grabbing his look board and bolting from the armory following the show.

Please visit the Ford Models Blog to see more looks from the Marc by Marc Jacobs S/S 11 presentation.

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week S/S 11 backstage odyssey continues with this encounter at Pier 92 with the Diesel Black Gold S/S 11 presentation Monday, 13 September. The Ford Models Blog was fortunate enough to get backstage with the help of Idris Rheubottom, one half of Idris + Tony, the brilliant photography/casting duo who cast Ford’s Valerija Kelava, Ford Men’s Paolo Anchisi, Ethan James, and Christian Brylle for the presentation of Diesel Black Gold spring 2011 collection by Sophia Kokosalaki. The production alone for this show was impressive not to mention the casting. Tucked away in Pier 92, a facility long enough to accommodate the Queen Mary 2, the collection was given the sort of unveiling befitting of an ocean liner. Ford Men’s Paolo Anchisi, who is also the face of Diesel Black Gold F/W 10, turned out for the first show of the day in his ALMOST SINGLE T-shirt that would later feature in backstage shots from another show later that afternoon, RAD by Rad Hourani S/S 11.

Please visit the Ford Models Blog to see more the looks from the Diesel Black Gold S/S 11 presentation.