It's only logical that technical sportswear should be breaking through as such an important influence for spring 2012—it's fashion mentally limbering up for the Summer Olympics in London, of course. Athleticism is home territory for American designers, too, so it's no stretch to see Alexander Wangstreaking off the starting-blocks with a show dedicated to New York street-elegant sportswear. It's his natural beat, too. "I've been looking at motocross, Nascar racing, and all the clothes those guys wear," Wang said backstage, looking calmly across the vast space he commanded at Pier 94 toward racks of perforated taffeta, bright flashes of tangerine, violet, and teal, and slick, body-sculpted knits.
It all came together with a sense of cohesion and modernity. There were zippy blousons and tiny skirts (Wang called them “racing suits”) with colored polo shirts showing through the mesh, geometrically-engineered intarsia sweaters and leggings color-blocked in burgundy, ochre, and white, and botanical prints on techno-fabric biker tops and matching skinny pants—and all of this stalking energetically down the runway on high, pointy shoes in gutsy fish-scale textures.
It was fast, young, confident, and—even though Wang doesn't veer from his contemporary-level price point—far from generic. His silk parachute dresses with zippered fronts and oversize cargo pockets radiated hot, sexy urbanity, while the final section, featuring sheer sweatshirts (patterned with fluorescent flashes) and collaged T-shirt dresses worn over swim pieces, had a sophistication that made this show a New York winner.
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