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//DDD//Karolina Zmarlak Fall Winter 2012

Written by Lynn Furge, Senior Fashion Editor Photos by Marta Traskevych for www.figphoto.net For all of you that have been following us from the launch issue Karolina Zmarlak was our first New York Fashion On the Rise Designer. This season the young talent unveiled Matadora, a collection where the story of a futuristic bullfighter took center stage. The hero this time is a heroine, masculine has become feminine but tradition still trumps all. Models stood strongly within the walls of the Soho House clad in cropped jackets complete with curved seams that echo the horns of the bull, pencil skirts, high-waisted pants with tuxedo stripes and a print (first time for the Karolina) that was painterly enough to not look like blood but red and luscious and spilling down the shoulder like a subconscious victory.

The identity of the brand with their impeccable reversible garments was still there and they partnered with monochromatic dresses that had shades tints and tones of red, burgundy and crimson (don’t get me started on the burgundy colored stretch leather leggings, an impossible textile to find, multiples were proudly on display and I’m guessing are going immediately into production.) Karolina’s woman is always strong, but this time there was more of a primal attitude, that instinct that owning your strength can be more sexy than flaunting your feminine wiles. Headwear by Ashley Llyod with horns, animal skins and quills was just the icing on the cake.