Alexandre Herchcovitch
by Marilyn Kirschner | photographed by Yannis Vlamos

Well, to say that Alexandre's fall collection was a bit schizophrenic is an understatement. On second thought, I suppose one can say it is the ultimate statement about global warming, the global nature of fashion, and the eccentric and eclectic aesthetic underlying it all, which makes it very modern and very relevant. Alexandre is the embodiment of cross cultural influences. After all, the Brazilian born designer who shows in Sao Paolo and New York, first showed his collection during Rio's Fashion week, followed by London's and Paris's. Known for his love of prints and his fine tailoring, he always goes his own way and is not only a true mix master, but one who mixes many cultures and many influences. He is always creative and not one to be bogged down with 'trends du jour'. His shows are testament to all these influences and this time was no exception.

Here we are in February and while it's been a rather mild winter so far, it's beginning to feel frigid here in New York- just in time for the fall winter shows. But instead of finding covered up cozy chunky hand knits, tweeds, furs, shearlings, etc. Alexandre presented a collection of clothes and accessories that were far more seasonless if not downright summery. While there were some beautiful pale military inspired coats and jackets, an enormous amount of black (many pieces were seemingly made from garbage bag material), a smattering of plaids, and his signature fabric and pattern mixes, there was also pale eyelet, damask, floral prints, and soft print dresses (many of them sleeveless or bare shouldered). These were further accessorized with statement making, beach worthy straw hats and portrait hats trimmed with sheer organza. After the first few pieces came out, I wondered to myself: what season is this? I could hear fellow attendees saying the same thing. Of course, let's not forget that while it's winter here, it's summer in Brazil.