On the Bright Side
The dazzling fall collection that Louis Dell’Olio designed for Anne Klein was born, he says, out of despair.
“I started it when everything in the world was horrid. We had a recession. We were about to go to war in the Persian Gulf. There was no good news,” he explains during a day of good news at I. Magnin, Beverly Hills. His bright and beautifully constructed collection receives a huge ovation from the 400-plus invited guests. As he talks, many rush to the dressing rooms to try on the samples.
“I decided this collection was not going to reflect all the bad news. I wanted to be a catalyst for change, even if it just meant making someone smile when a woman walked into a room.”
He has given his fans plenty to smile about--especially when it comes to color, texture and the ultimate hard-body outfit. For that, Dell’Olio has created what he terms “must have” stretch-velvet shoe pants (he does pant boots too)--a shoe and skintight legging all in one. He offers several styles, including those in jewel tones with low, sculptured gold heels. He shows them self-belted with turtleneck tops of the same stretch-velvet fabric or with sumptuous plaid tunic jackets in what he calls Fauve colors--azure, marigold, orange, hot pink, emerald and royal.
These $450 leggings-cum-pants can be only spot-cleaned because of the attached footwear. But the designer doesn’t think that will stop anyone from buying them. “It’s not about practicality, it’s strictly about fashion and fun,” he explains with a slightly pained expression, adding that Ivana Trump has just purchased four pairs in New York.
Which is not to say he takes his prices lightly. He admits they are substantial: $200 to $6,000 for the suits, dresses, blouses, sweaters, jackets and coats shown at I. Magnin. And for that reason, his garments “are on the aggressive side. They make a strong statement. When women are spending what they have to on these clothes, I think they should be noticed.”
Not everything clicks every season, he says. But he believes this time it does. Some of that click comes from the fabrics, designed by Dell’Olio and made in Europe. This fall, they include vivid highly textured plaids and tweeds that he likes because they incorporate all the colors of his collection.
He also uses zippers in a way that makes them look like jewelry, not hardware. And he doesn’t think of them as closures. “They are exclamation marks,” he says. And why not?
His upbeat fall collection is loaded with emphatic statements.
