Katie Holmes debuts Holmes & Yang at NYFW: much improved or still a mess?

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes has had a pretty big week. On Monday, Suri Cruise began first grade at the new Avenues school in NYC’s Chelsea neighborhood. According to People, a nervous Suri was spottedbiting her nails through the tinted window of her SUV,” but Holmes (mostly) avoided photographers by backing into the school’s (very convenient and ultimately strategic) parking garage. Suri was also reportedly wearing a pink bow atop her head and carrying a matching cheetah-print backpack, and contrary to previous reports, Tom Cruise was nowhere in sight on Suri’s first day of school. What a tool.

In other Katie-related news, this week’s issue of Us Weekly claims that Katie is thoroughly enjoying her newfound freedom, and she particularly enjoys the fact that her new apartment has roof access where she and Suri can enjoy a bit of sunshine without encountering the photogs. Naturally, I am assuming (perhaps wrongfully) that Tom never allowed Katie to have roof access in their old NYC place because, you know, she was so miserable that drastic measures could have taken place. That wasn’t even a joke. Honestly, I’d consider such an action if I were married to Tom, but luckily, Katie was able to get out with the help of burner phones and her awesome dad.

Katie Holmes

Now onto the true subject matter of this story, which is the Holmes & Yang New York Fashion Week debut. In these photos, Katie is seen arriving with her partner and stylist, Jeanne Yang, at the show, which has seen a lot of promotion with a WWD interview and because the line was showing in a fairly large tent show at Lincoln Center. Like Victoria Beckham, Katie’s line has made a newfound voyage into separates. There were — I repeat — there were no fug booties to be found on the premises. All and all, the bystander accounts from Twitter have been positive, although Eric Wilson of the New York Times declaredAt Holmes & Yang, it all looks very much like Katie” to which the rather hilarious “Suri’s Burn Book” account replied, “Burn.

Suri Cruise

Yet by all critical accounts (thus far), the Holmes & Yang line is a “fantastic first presentation” featuring “great separates” that has miraculously succeeded because of (or perhaps in spite of) the fact that it reminds people of Katie’s street style. Odd, right? Susan Kaufman of People StyleWatch even stated, “It was very clean but with a cool factor. I can easily see her (Holmes) wearing it.” Here’s the lowdown from the LA Times:

The inspiration: Elevating casual dress. Mixing masculine and feminine style.

The look: Relaxed elegance. A black off-the-shoulder dress with hand-painted red spider mums. A louche black beaded strapless jumpsuit worn with a navy cardigan. A buttery suede cape worn with a celadon-colored camisole and red shorts. A leather camisole worn with a maxi skirt. A black leather bra top and men’s pleated trousers under a glazed khaki leather trench coat.

The scene: Controlled and polite.

The verdict: The line may be made in New York, but it has that relaxed L.A. sensibility that really reflects what people wear every day. There’s no reason to think that the line won’t continue to gain momentum now that Holmes has garnered so much goodwill with the public since her split with Cruise. Could Holmes and Yang be the next Row, the line designed by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen? Or the next Victoria Beckham? We’ll see. First, Holmes and Yang have to show us more about what their particular brand of fashion is all about.

[From LA Times]

First off, I think that the LA Times has given away a bit of its trickery here by describing the Holmes & Yang line as possibly “the next Victoria Beckham” because, seriously, Posh’s line is just beginning to arrive in its own way. But yes, this line is very different than what we’ve already seen from Holmes & Yang, which is that the usual designs belong mostly on a paper-mache doll. This time, Katie and Jeanne Yang have truly gone a bit more rock ‘n’ roll with their line, and I kind of like this black and white dress and the suede capelet. Not that I’d wear either of these pieces, mind you, but they do look quite lovely on the models. Here are some Twitpics of the fashion show. Thoughts?

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes

Photos courtesy of WENN and Twitter

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59 Responses to “Katie Holmes debuts Holmes & Yang at NYFW: much improved or still a mess?”

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  1. C72 says:

    thoughts? sure, u r crazy
    this stuff is dollar store crap

    how can anyone think this doesn’t belong in the bargain bin

    • Autumndaze says:

      Absolutely awful.

    • Tiffany says:

      I agree. The construction looks like it was done by students. These are such basic and boring garments, I don’t know how anyone could call it fashion. The blue dress with black straps is so incredibly terrible.

    • k says:

      And to think it took two people to come up with this.

    • Lauren says:

      Fugly masculine Alien. Do not intend to insult Aliens. I am so bloody sick of Katie & Tommy. Overrated sociopaths. When i think of Talent..Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, or Cate Blanchett come to mind. Not these famewhore idiots. Furthermore, why is Katie designing anything? I do not think of her as a fashion icon. She is a flat chested, thick legged, raggley weave-plastic surgery divorcee of Tommy. WTF did Tommy marry her? Nicole Kidman was gorgeous, and a respected actress. Katie is Blah Squared. (No i am not a Scientologist).

  2. She really should think about another career..the close are so boring looking.thought she would surprise me, like PADAWWWWWWWW, not.sad waist of time.
    Shouldnt have come out now…to much going on in her life. She should’ve waited with the fashion Sh*t.

  3. Nola says:

    Love Katie but this is some Joey Potter stylings

  4. Lizzie says:

    This all looks so catalogue to me. Just dull.

  5. Syko says:

    These look like something I might throw together, t-shirt from KMart, skirt from Salvation Army…

    • KellyinSeattle says:

      I agree; some of the things at the thrift shops are way better than her “creations”; and a better deal!!!…I think she needs to lay off the “fashion” for awhile

  6. Tar Heel Gal says:

    Fashion show pic #2: Good grief!! Are those CROPPED navy leather pants with the biggest front pleats I’ve seen in 10 years??!! Noooooo!

    • hoya_chick says:

      Exactly! What is that? Also, I love that model being fed bottle water through a straw….you know that’s all she ate for the day. I personally wouldn’t wear any of those pieces. They are boring and you can find it way cheaper at club monoco and banana republic. So was there a runway show as well or just this presentation?

  7. Eener says:

    Urgh that blue dress is terrible. It’s all bargain basement, cheap and underwhelming. I wouldn’t pay $20 for any of it.

  8. Eener says:

    Urgh that blue dress is awful. It’s all bargain basement, cheap and underwhelming. I wouldn’t pay $20 for any of it.

  9. Steeze says:

    its terrible, i think most people could do better!

  10. mk yarwood says:

    I really liked her in Thank You for Smoking

    • DEB says:

      She’s very good! She just wasn’t getting anywhere married to Tom. I like her new line and think all the “hate” here is awful. I don’t think she deserves a bunch of criticism right now or to be picked on.

      • gg says:

        There’s usually a lot of support for Katie here. I’ve seen way worse fashion shows before and at least these you could see on the street. Not terribly inspired though – more like a Sears clothing line. But I love the outfit she’s wearing.

      • DrM says:

        I agree, I like some of the clothes…the suede cape is nice…and it all looks quite sleek and minimal. I do wish she’d stop standing pigeon toed though…drives me mad.

  11. Jayna says:

    Just a safe line for a Spiegel (ph) like catalogue.

  12. Eleonor says:

    Victoria line is way better.

    • Crake says:

      So true! As much as I can’t stand Victoria her clothes are a 100% better than this so called ‘Holmes & Yang’ crap. No originality whatsoever in any of the clothes and they look cheap too.

      • Eleonor says:

        What strikes me more is that Holmes and Yang pieces look unoriginal and cheap, seriously you can find the same stuff at H&M. Victoria’s line is simple, but it’s not even remotely cheap. I don’t know probably the material, the cut, but it’s far way better. I even went on her site and I’m in love with her purses.

  13. hellena says:

    It just looks badly tailored. With no feeling for the body that wears it…so I would be rather scared if I had to wear some of that.

  14. Aria says:

    It’s fine. I like the strapless dress.

  15. Sapphire says:

    It’s a mistake to design a whole line based on what you would wear-especially since your (Katie’s) styling notoriously sucks.

  16. serena says:

    Don’t like them but hope it’ll go well! Go Katie!

  17. abby says:

    on the average woman’s body, none of these clothing items would be flattering.

    • gg says:

      That’s not unusual though. Most American women are size 10 or larger, not size 0-4.

    • erika says:

      totally agree, thumbs up for katie working and trying this despite tool of the century, that ALONE deseve applause

      but, if i were like a size zero, no hips, yeah, it is stylish casual…but, i’m not…

      but i’ll support the girl no matter what. she escaped tommy boy and flipped his ass like a dollar pancake….

      HEEE HAWWWWWWWWWWWWW

  18. Sunnyinseattle says:

    Couldn’t focus on the clothes because I was trying to figure out which models were human and which were manaquins. For real a few of them look totally fake. Or am I missing something, and there are fake ones mixed in? Lol 😉

  19. Hope says:

    The collection’s pieces all look like project runway castoffs. Just sayin.

    • Relli says:

      I was thinking that this all looked very much a like PR challenge as opposed to a designer collection show. The odd colors and fabrics thrown together, it definitely scream team challenge, no?

      I will say something nice,though it looks like a cohesive collection and it fits all the models properly.

  20. Fyofeelings says:

    Acting wasn’t her thing and neither is fashion……NEXT!

  21. TG says:

    Okay, I will admit that I am dying to have that green quilted jacket in the top photo, but I agree this stuff could be sold at the local mall. Nothing special. And I think they are cowards not letting media into the event. If you can’t take criticism you are in the wrong business. But then again isn’t that how Hollywood works? They only sit for journalists who will fawn over them? So maybe I am wrong but the people who buy this stuff will not be fooled. Katie cleans up well though.

  22. Memphis says:

    I like Katie (and I think she looked great that night) but even if I could afford the price tag I don’t see much I would want to wear.

    But at least the models weren’t in tan suede booties, good call Yang.

  23. Duckie says:

    I like the majority of the clothes in the collection, don’t really get the “bargain basement” hate for them but each to their own!

  24. carol says:

    Katie has lost weight…. looks good in the thighs! She likes to wear the same shoes over & over… makes her seem “just like us” (kinda)? I love her. She’s perfect

    • Bodhi says:

      I think those pants do nothing for her thighs. They are smaller than mine, for sure, but one shouldn’t wear pants tailored that way when one tends to be heavy in the thighs

  25. Lady Satan says:

    I like Katie’s leather jacket, and the one other leather jacket in the photos (same jacket as Katies?) but the rest of the collection is utterly *meh*

    I love classic wardrobe pieces that you can wear forever but classic does not mean boring. Nor does it mean recycling ideas that were awful the first time around – hugely pleated cropped leather pants I am looking at you.

  26. tye says:

    Dare I say that Holmes and Yang rank right up there with Stella McCartney for the worst of the worst?

    • Crake says:

      That’s and insult to Stella McCartney. At least Stella studied fashion and I would rather wear her clothes any day than the rubbish from this crappy duo.

  27. Miss Piggy says:

    Her flats are Bedazzled. BEDAZZLED! Look no further.

  28. Dee Cee says:

    We present, prestige and elegant ..Excuse me for wearing these expensive dowdy, sometimes sober puritan clothes.. I tried to just scrap together pieces of my favorite design parts into various elements with almost choice fabrics arranged together, in barely any designer quality fittings and unrelated drab combination colors also.. as to not greatly offend you..

  29. bea says:

    Those clothes look poorly made.

    She should avoid pants or at least get better ones. A wide leg pant is her best bet.

  30. kibbles says:

    Really awful. How can two designers with all the money and resources in the world produce designs that are so cheap looking? I have found clothes at Macy’s, Asos, and a number of other affordable stores that look a hundred times better and are a quarter of the price of the cheapest Holmes & Yang piece. I think most people on this site are rooting for Katie and are glad to see her blossoming as an independent woman. However, I think most of us also think she should stick to acting and rebuilding her film career. These clothes do not look good at all.

  31. Ella says:

    Wow, the clothes are not pretty. I feel like we should support her though, seing she successfully extricated herself from the world’s most nefarious cult and now she’s doing it on her own. If we all put in a dollar, we can buy an ill-fitting white chiffon camisole together, and we’d all get to wear it once every three years.

  32. Francesca says:

    Very Average. Stuff we all have already or don’t want. However, good try and not completely awful. Remember she is coming out of a coma so…

  33. wobble says:

    I like the ideas presented, but not the execution. If those clothes were better made and with slightly different fabrics, it would be fine.

  34. Kloops says:

    Katie’s grown on me this summer and I really am rooting for her, but these look budget, common and underwhelming at best. They would look horrid on anyone other than a fashion model.

  35. skuddles says:

    I agree with everyone who thinks clothing is budget and boring. Fashion is not Katie’s strong point.

  36. Agnes says:

    I was thinking that these look like they belong at a Conway (do those still exist?).

  37. Marybel says:

    One step above Horrible of Derriere

  38. jen says:

    Whenever a hasbeen tries to stay famous, she starts calling herself a designer.
    I truly cannot imagine .anyone. wanting to look like Katie Holmes. But the beauty of KH is that she keeps pushing on with her quest for fame. Dropping out of the limelight is the last thing on her mind.