Na-Be by Victorya Hong

VictorYA showed her Na-Be collection on Friday and of course, we have opinions. It's very much an '80s-inspired collection and for those of us who lived through the '80s and cringe at the thought - get over it. Trends recycle in fashion and right now, this is the trend.

To her credit, she's looking at the more classically inspired looks of the '80s - the menswear-inspired looks, the cropped jackets, the leggings, the wide belts, and pegged pants. It's done in mostly toned down colors of creams and blacks and rich greys, but with some pure '80s splashes of neon and purple. In short, she took the best parts of the '80s and did them up in a modern, wearable style.

To be honest, we like the collection. A lot of the online and critical reception seems decidedly mixed. It can't by any stretch of the imagination be referred to as "innovative," but so what? That's not the be all and end all of fashion. It's one criteria to apply, but it's not a universal standard. Yes, the looks are very toned down and no, there's never any "wow" moment in the collection, but that's pretty much her personality as we saw it on the show. We can see why she didn't make it to the end of the competition, though. Project Runway is set up in such a way as to reward the dramatic and over-the-top. It's a reality show and that's what it does. In the real world of fashion, this is just a well done, simple, chic collection. Good for her for sticking to her own aesthetic.


Here's the video of her runway show:


[Photos: WireImage/GettyImages - Video: Myitthings.com]

Click here to hear what Princess and Miss Jack had to say about the show>>