Suno Fall 2012 Collection

Suno Fall 2012 Collection

February 11, 2012  |  Fashion Events, Feature, Runway

What is it precisely about Suno’s designs that I find so captivating? I’ve pondered this question long and hard since initially falling in love with the line’s Kenyan cloth minidresses. Originally, it was because I understood the references; my mom and I took a safari through Kenya’s Masai Mara wildlife reserve near the Serengeti before finishing up our vacation with a 3 day stay at the Peponi hotel on Lamu Island. This was back in 2009 before I’d ever heard of Suno, so imagine my surprise when in Elle a few months ago I read that Suno designer Erin Beatty traced a nearly identical trip through East Africa!

Suno celebrates life. What a trite statement, but it’s true. The explosive use of color and print points to an exuberant embrace of the fractal-like energy of life, at a time when much of fashion celebrates austerity (Celine of past seasons), bondage (Alexander McQueen), or sexual objectification (Gucci et al). What about clothes for having fun! For living! In all honesty, I’m surprised that New Yorkers have embraced such a, for lack of a better word, happy line. Suno has swept through American fashion like a breath of fresh air, awakening the cynics’ hearts and convincing the normally black-clad city dwellers that yes, it’s OK to wear color in the concrete jungle. And prints. Lots of them while you’re at it, and don’t forget to mix them.

Tonight was a tour de force through Suno creators Erin Beatty and Max Osterweis’ minds. Wildly colorful but more balanced, structured, and nuanced than in years past. The two have certainly found their stride. Yes, the designs ranged wildly from color-blocked angular pantsuits that reminded me of ’90s motifs to a 3D bejeweled dress and skirt that looked like the shapes of children dancing. And who could forget the knit of the man and woman holding hands, the two genders joined in unity. A perceptable thread of world peace pervaded the atmosphere, which even featured a few garments with nature lithographs; perhaps a not-so-subtle-reference to the tree of life? The folksy sweater adds to the evidence, as does the fact that humans evolved out of Kenya’s Rift Valley. Given the violent bloodshed of recent years in Kenya, the spiritual heart and production center of the line, this might have been an attempt to celebrate the joyous human soul in a time of darkness.


3 Comments


  1. I’m obsessed with Suno and this was a great collection, they mix prints like no other and like you said, they bring life and joy to the fashion industry, it’s a wonderful thing! 🙂

    Great pictures!

    xx
    Ashlei

    kinksarethenewpink.blogspot.com

  2. lovely prints and shape!

  3. Really great photos! Love the Prints!

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