Suspense Building as 7th Avenue Designers Plot Fall Openings
Will Calvin Klein’s new fall clothes be as steamy and provocative as the nudes in his perfume ads? Will the “Man and His Horse” exhibit, which Ralph Lauren underwrote for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, mean more horseplay ahead at Polo? Will Stephen Sprouse’s ‘50s flashbacks cause as much commotion as his ‘60s revivals? Will the woman whose cat had kittens in Norma Kamali’s 10-year-old sleeping-bag coat ever really turn it in for a new model?
These are some of the questions people in the fashion industry are asking right now as this city’s most famous designers prepare to unveil their fall collections next week. Here are some of the answers:
Klein, who has set new standards of seduction in fashion advertising, will not reveal just how revealing his new clothes will be, but he did tell Fashion85 that “The shape for fall is square and broad-shouldered to accent a tiny waist.”
Lauren insists that if there’s anything equestrian about his fall clothes--and there is--it’s elegantly equestrian, not riding costume equestrian. He says he will show a few jodhpurs and a dandy-fied riding coat, but that the overall attitude of the collection has nothing to do with bits and bridles. Skirts will be generally long, he reveals, with some full and some slender.
Stephen Sprouse won’t talk about his new collection, but don’t be surprised to see a flower child in his lineup along with those prep school graduates from the Eisenhower years.
Donna Karan, who shows her first collection under her own name this season after 17 years at Anne Klein and 10 years of sharing that company’s design credit with Louis dell’ Olio, says she’s designing for the powerful woman who needs powerful separates. Her fashion power plays will include such Karan essentials as cashmere bodysuits, cashmere pants, blanket scarfs, belts, jewelry and gloves.
Dell ‘Olio says that because this will be his first solo collection for Anne Klein he wants it to be “very American”--as in patterned Navajo sweaters, Western stitching on belts, Western boots, skirts that are either very short or very long. And for evening: clothes that are either “casual dressy” (angora sweaters trimmed in gold lace) or “drop dead” (black sequins with gold bugle beads).
Geoffrey Beene reports that his new fall clothes are the closest fitting he’s made in 15 years. It’s partly the Austrian influence, he says, adding that the femininity of Viennese women continues to inspire him. (Beene just returned from Vienna as the guest of American Ambassador Helene von Damm, who invited him to show his collection there.) There is not a single pair of pants in the Beene bag for fall, and most daytime skirts are 2 inches above the knees. “The collection is full of collapsible geometry,” Beene reveals, explaining that his new geometric shapes are so soft that they collapse against the body.
Oscar de la Renta also speaks about clothes that are “close to the body but not cinchy,” with the prevailing hemline at or around the knee. De la Renta believes that the old sportswear formula of a blouse and skirt is just that--an old formula. “It doesn’t work today,” he says. “It’s passe--just as passe as a poufy evening gown.” What are not passe in De La Renta’s view are daytime dresses in jersey or cashmere and an evening look that combines a satin skirt with big pockets and a luxurious blouse. In other words, the blouse and skirt look that is passe for day is the last word after dark.
Bill Blass says he wants to give a lift to fall fashion, and that lift begins with hemlines that bisect the knees. “Everything is basically short and snappy,” Blass discloses, “even coats.” Shoulders are no longer square, he adds, explaining that his curvy view of fall also pertains to shoulders, which are newly rounded. The new evening look at Blass is definitely more covered than in the past, and it is definitely not sequined. “Women seem to be tired of all that bareness and all that glitter. This is not to say that we won’t offer a few naked looks, but the evening clothes in general are more subdued--slim and subdued with a youthful sophistication. Even our colors are more subdued. There are, of course, exceptions. Bright orange, for example, looks right to me.
Perry Ellis also advocates the short and fitted look for fall. Although his skirts are short, Ellis accommodates those with less-than-perfect legs by providing above-the-knee boots--as in our Ellis photo. And for those whose knees are worthy of baring, there are flat shoes for day and what he calls “little Louis” heels for evening.
Perhaps the most philosophical view of fall fashion comes from Norma Kamali, who says it doesn’t really matter how long skirts are or whether a shoulder is square or round, but it does matter that designers bring some individuality to the new season. “Customers are tired of the volumes and volumes of clothes that look alike. Enough is enough of the same old stuff. Customers want choices--lots and lots of choices. Designers have got to be themselves--to do what they believe in. As long as the new fall clothes look like me, I’m happy.” As our preview photograph illustrates, the new Kamali look for Jones New York is indeed unmistakably Kamali--a wide-lapel, fitted suit with calf-length, box-pleated skirt and high-top shoes. The toque hat and muff/bag are of fake tiger.
