THE FALL COLLECTIONS / NEW YORK : Itsy-Bitsy Chic
After a three-week hiatus, time enough to repack the slip dresses and combat boots that are the uniform of fashion hounds, the shows of fall ready-to-wear resumed Wednesday under two tents pitched behind the New York Public Library.
The eight-day schedule could choke even the most voracious clotheshorse: 76 back-to-back shows, a cocktail reception by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, panel discussions sponsored by Mirabella and Harper’s Bazaar, a Diamond Information Center breakfast and a slew of private parties, including a dinner hosted by Calvin Klein and a model-celebrity bash given by the British firm Ghost.
But even such inducements as free bottles of Evian, stacks of fashion magazines, a Prescriptives make-over and a Pantone color consultation won’t stifle the weariness sure to set in by week’s end. The fashion troops seem a tad grumpy already. Maybe it’s the combination of chilly, rainy weather and a spate of opening shows that were repetitious, uninspired and at times downright silly.
The runways were swimming in itsy-bitsy dresses and skirts that barely covered the crotch. Pants made only rare appearances, and forget about jackets. They’ve been replaced by loose, droopy sweaters, either ribbed or in nubby wool.
Although it’s laudable that designers have labored to find a fresher, softer alternative to the conventional structured suit, it’s doubtful women will swoon over fuzzy sweaters and teeny knit dresses paired with over-the-knee stockings and chunky boots. It’s a look better suited to Kate Moss than to the rest of us.
No one tried harder to make a statement for little flared dresses than Donna Karan in her hipper-than-thou DKNY collection, whose target audience seems to be blank-faced twentysomethings with disheveled hair and daddy’s charge card.
If you had to choose a single item to sum up the DKNY attitude, it would be a baggy, bunched-up oatmeal tweed sweater drooping over a tiny flippy skirt revealing pipe-cleaner legs in suede desert boots. Or maybe a tartan mini fluffed out with a crinoline and paired with a riding jacket and a pristine, schoolgirlish white blouse.
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Karan doesn’t miss a trend: “deconstructionist” chinos with raw-edge hems, distressed shearling coats, leather aprons, shrunken sweaters, kilts, and the ubiquitous over-the-knee stockings, among others. And she is probably the first designer to show bouffant dance dresses and ball gowns in hot-pink and acid-green neoprene.
The fluorescent scuba styles bobbing down the runway drew applause, probably from editors eager to do photo layouts titled: “Neoprene Dives Into Style!” Buyers may have a tougher time envisioning customers plucking them off the racks. But you never know.
Adrienne Vittadini was also crazy about tiny pleated tartan skirts and little knit dresses, but she presented her collection with less attitude. Although her restraint was admirable--Karan’s street chic can be contrived--the clothes seemed bland. Why didn’t Vittadini, who is masterful with prints, liven things up with her signature patterned knits?
Except for a group of shrunken sweater sets in neon-bright mohair, the designer stuck to dark and sober shades, such as navy, plum and gray. Her nubby, flared sweater-dresses grazed the derriere and were worn with ribbed tights and riding boots. For more coverage, they could probably be tossed over pants, which were scarce here. Her oversize knit tunics had knit scarves coiled at the neck to form deep, cowl-like collars. Not exactly an earth-shattering idea, but one that looked great.
On a different wavelength entirely was Randy Kemper, whose fans include Margaux Hemingway and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Forget shrunken mohair sweater sets and itty-bitty kilts. Kemper is into commercial wearability--cuffed trousers, crepe trousers, strong-shouldered jackets--stuff to wear in the boardroom. Next to the babyish clothing in other lines, these day clothes looked surprisingly staid.
The best items in Kemper’s show were his big, plush, fake-fur coats; floaty silk trench coats lined in a leopard print, and a streamlined sage wool jumpsuit gleaming with little zippers. Old-time film goddesses were the inspiration for Kemper’s vampy evening clothes, from satin lounging pajamas to bias-cut slip dresses that should never leave the boudoir.
Mark Eisen’s show started off on a promising note with skinny black pantsuits, a camel duffel coat, and vests and minis in black and camel tartan. After that, things turned. A tight mohair suit in screaming tangerine, shiny black vinyl jeans worn with four-inch spikes, and micro minis trimmed with stiff, brushlike feathers had more than a few viewers staring blankly into space. If only the talented Eisen would get rid of the gimmicks.
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If there was one streak of light in the early round of shows, it was Byron Lars’ zippy collection that tossed together the fashion passions--fake fur, riding jackets and sweater-dresses--with bits of colorful beads and feathers and vibrant African prints.
Everything was done in a lighthearted, don’t-take-fashion-so-seriously spirit, and the show worked because firmly tailored, well-cut sportswear was the foundation of all the fun.
Narrow, pin-striped charcoal suits; slouchy charcoal wool trousers; men’s shirts, and leather aviator jackets were enlivened with collars of colorful beads, coiled and feathered headdresses, African mask backpacks and shawls lined in vivid African prints.
Even the models seemed to enjoy tossing their acrylic cornrows and swirling their printed shawls as they strutted to pulsating music. Let’s hope some of the other designers pick up Lars’ beat.
Next: The collections of Anne Klein, Todd Oldham, Anna Sui and Vera Wang.
