On March 20th, Underground NYC, the much talked about emerging designer marketplace and style venue in SoHo, kicked off its first installment of, Over Under, a monthly runway presentation, featuring the world’s most innovative designer collections. Over Under provides an open venue for underground design pioneers to most recognizable names in the industry, to express their most unique point of view at no cost to them. I couldn’t make it as I attended the Shinnyo-en Peace gala at Cipriani’s the same night. Instead, I sent Elyn and this is her summary of the night.

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It was a very small show with only 25 or so pieces, representing the work of 4 different collections (Tara Jarmon, Nature Vs Future, Sinner/
Saint, Linda Loudermilk).

THE GOOD: The collections were all well edited & stood out as solid representations of the 4 different designer’s work, and they also worked very well together so the switch between design houses was not jarring. The accessories (Thea Grant Jewelry, Mink Shoes, PF flyers) were all lovely & innovative, but didn’t overshadow the focus of the show — the clothing. And the clothing itself was quite lovely. All the designers used a mix of colors & materials, and though there were some heavily constructed pieces they all veered towards a more fluid style in dresses, additionally (& this is a rare compliment) the collections were all wearable ‘as-is’ right off the runway!

THE BAD: They weren’t very clear about the switch from collection-to-collection, so there was some confusion about which designer’s collection we were watching. Also they never announced the actual beginning of the show, so we were a bit confused about whether the dry run was still going on or the show had begun. But all in all these glitches were MINOR compared to some of the major glitches I’ve seen at major fashion shows & did not distract from the clothing itself, and since this was their first show I’m sure these kinks will be corrected at the next show!

OUTAKE: I didn’t see a future Zac Posen in the mix, but I DID see collections that could easily be picked up by Sak’s, Neiman-Marcus or
Intermix, and do very well without the need to change from ‘runway’ to ‘real life’ (many designers show a collection in various extremes –
skirt lengths, skirt & shirt slits & sheerness of material — that they have to completely change or tone down to sell to store buyers) … & seeing 4 well crafted, distinct & wearable collections on the runway at once is a rare treat!

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Let me set the stage … I brought my friend (they let me know in the morning, it was no problem) & we showed up a bit early, so they were
still setting up when we walked in. The PR team & production team were super sweet, gave us some water (a yuuuummy Mango/Peach flavored & vitamin enriched water by Sonu who I think were one of the sponsors), & sat us in the front row. The also gave us little rubber
ducks to hold in case we left our seats — they gave everyone in the front row/reserved seats rubber ducks so the assistants would know
where to put us.

There were drinks downstairs, but we stayed locked in our seats (I was wearing 5″ platforms & when I sat down, I STAYED down), playing with our rubber ducks & we got a rousing version of “Rubber Ducky” started with the production team (no more sugar tonight for me ). We
watched the run-through & while that was going on people were brought in & then the show started. There was a bit of confusion about
whether it was still a run-through for the first 2 dresses, but then we realized the show had officially begun, the photographers all
started clicking away & the room quieted down. I had room between me & the runway, so I sat on the floor to get better angles & a few
photogs followed me (once again, the Getty photographer, was totally helpful & one of the funnest people there!).

Since they kept it to the normal time for a fashion show (after all the hype pre-show, they usually last 30 minutes), the 4 collections
were edited to a few important pieces & it was done really well, with collections flowing together brilliantly!