Remember that Nordic:New York dinner I told you about a few days ago? Well, on Tuesday came the show itself – the Nordic:New York Spring 2011 group show, showcasing the talents of one New Yorker (Lialia) and three Scandinavian designers (Royal Extreme, Tiia Vanhatapio, Islaet).

“It was, like, four days ago…” you’re probably saying to yourself. I won’t bore you with my camera snafu adventure details. Bottom line is, I managed to get the photos out of my old camera’s claws, who is probably just jealous I got a new Canon SLR a few days ago. I have the photos now; they’re kind of crappy; so let’s get this dog and pony show on the road.

After getting excited to see the Scandinavian designers at the Nordic:New York dinner, I’ve made my way to the Nordic:New York show at the Manhattan Movement Art Center a day later. I got a preview of the clothes at the dinner, so I already knew I’m in for quite an interesting show, but I got so much more.

Lialia‘s show had acrobat dancer girls; doing their thing all through out Lialia’s presentation. I thought they were a bit of a distraction from the clothes, which by themselves were actually rather ordinary. The Spring 2011 collection was inspired by the life path of a butterfly. So we saw spun lace, hooded dresses and blouses, moth eaten jersey and soft white’s and black’s juxtaposing color.

Nordic:New York Lialia Spring2011
Nordic:New York Lialia Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Lialia Spring2011
Nordic:New York Lialia Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Then came Royal Extreme‘s turn. With a slogan like “More is more. Less is a bore”, how can you not like everything the Icelandic designer Una Hlin Kristjansdottir does. She went to India to design and create her Spring 2011 collection. And the inspiration definitely shows through the gorgeous rich colors, soft fabrics and loose silhouettes. If you could only feel the softness of the lambskin jackets, pants and bags. All made in India. This is not another “made in China” brand. I really hope her collection get’s picked up by American retailers. You absolutely have to check out her Spring 2011 lookbook.

Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011
Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011
Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011
Nordic:New York Royal Extreme Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Then came Tiia Vanhatapio‘s Spring 2011 collection. The Finnish designer dubbed her collection “Druidess” and dedicated it Type O Negative’s recently deceased leading man Peter Steele. The collection consisted of beautiful and haunting cocktail dresses. No wonder Dita Von Teese is a fan.

Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011
Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011
Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011
Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011
Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011
Nordic:New York Tiia Vanhatapio Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Last but not least was Islaet – brainchild of the Danish designer Trine Jespersen. Islaet’s clothes are probably the most RTW out of the three, perhaps because Jespersen always designs with a hip London girl as a client in mind. Her Spring 2011 collection is a fusion of two worlds – sophisticated “Ivy-league” day looks and cool “London rock” evening looks.

Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011
Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011
Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover

Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011
Nordic:New York Islaet Spring2011 | Photo: Fashion Lover