Serious Fun
The stylish woman who peers out from every mirror looks 35. She’s logged enough experiential miles to convincingly carry off spare, sophisticated sportswear, but her youthful energy gives playful evening gowns in Crayola shades a place in her wardrobe too. She is Isaac Mizrahi’s muse, but she also haunts the imaginations of several other New York designers.
Let’s call her Michelle (as in Pfeiffer). As a week of fall fashion shows ended in New York, she symbolically graced the runways of Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Todd Oldham and Jill Stuart. She has always worn Armani, so her spirit hovered over the Emporio Armani show that closed the New York collections as well. Women in their 20s want to look as polished as Michelle; women old enough to be her mother know if they choose their clothes carefully, they can pass for her sister.
Mizrahi’s doing his best to keep her looking happy. Not one to be coy, he titled his collection “Fun and Expensive” and even instructed his models to smile as they walked, or skipped, down the runway. Even without a grinning order in effect, his designs would have prompted a giggle.
Many of the new fall clothes have been extremely monastic and serious. The plain clothes of autumn seem to hide layers of meaning beneath their simple surfaces, but in the way that people of few words appear to be deep in thought when their minds are actually vacant, profundity may be just an illusion. Fashioned of dense cashmere and felted wool, these clothes are thick as a Chasen’s sirloin, so one doesn’t ask, “Where’s the beef?” The more timely question should be, “Where’s the wit?”
It’s found sanctuary at Mizrahi, where baggy trousers of crinkled turquoise satin stole the spotlight from their companion--a snug, sleeveless cashmere sweater. Classic styles enjoyed a tasteful revival--there was nothing tricky in the presentation of a lean camel’s hair suit with a calf-length skirt. But more often the designer would prefer to have some fun, striping mohair sweaters in all the colors of the rainbow or putting a baby on board, strapped into a satin sling to match her gorgeous momma’s coral ball gown.
By not mimicking the dominant trends of a season, free-spirited talents like Mizrahi give women a lot of rope. If he can offer shocking pink strapless dance dresses, a black tank dress covered in make-believe diamonds, or a dress knitted of tangerine mohair, then the message is clear: Wear what you please, and what will please your audience.
Oldham has always followed that philosophy. He treated his audience to an 11-minute film instead of a show.
“After doing 16 big runway shows, one after another, I wanted to do something different this time,” Oldham explained.
He recently signed with Creative Artists Agency and will be directing a film next year. The short that showcased some of his fall designs, titled “Chandra’s Dream,” was a kitschy romp featuring curvy model Chandra North.
“It’s about a beautiful girl and her journey from waking in the morning to getting out of the house, with a few psychedelic daydreams interrupting,” Oldham said. Eight gowns from his collection were modeled before and after the movie.
A lime-and-chocolate beaded cashmere tank top, paired with a long brown-and-lilac sequined lace skirt, and a beaded, striped cashmere cardigan were representative of the collection that will be in Oldham’s Beverly Boulevard boutique in the fall.
“I think you should be able to eat from a plate on your lap in evening clothes, if a dinner is served buffet style,” he said. “Just because they have beads and sequins on them doesn’t mean these are clothes that should be saved for special occasions. I never got that way of thinking.”
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Donna Karan and Calvin Klein don’t pursue fun as Oldham and Mizrahi do. They are more likely to create cohesive collections that express a mood. In Karan’s case, she communicatedserenity by presenting uncomplicated silhouettes in luxurious fabrics. And she included just enough complexity to add freshness to the brew.
Hand-knitted shrugs were a new addition. A shrug, which covers the arms and shoulders and forms a narrow path across the upper back, is like a fragment of a sweater. Added to a strapless dress or sleeveless top, it attractively alters the architecture of a design.
The shape of things was very much on Karan’s mind. She inserted padding in strapless shells and curving long skirts. In the skirts, it functioned as a crinoline would, making the fabric stand away from the body.
The cult of Jil Sander has long rhapsodized about the sensual experience of wearing her unfussy clothes. Similar qualities distinguished Karan’s collection. Calm tones of gray, ivory and black replaced any real color, and it was obviously created with comfort in mind. Models wore flat felt slippers, and neither buttons nor lapels corrupted the purity of a jacket or coat. But the negative aspects of Sander’s work were evident as well.
Just as the inexperienced meditator will sometimes fall asleep, inadvertently confusing tranquillity and unconsciousness, Karan’s peaceful styles can verge on boring. That fate was avoided each time some shine appeared. Beautiful evening dresses of shimmering platinum velvet, luminescent silver satin skirts and metallic beading on black cashmere dresses provided some badly needed sparkle to a collection that relied a bit too heavily on its hidden virtues.
Calvin Klein must be drinking the same Seventh Avenue water. He also focused on structure and comfort, producing a collection that, despite its somber mood, was one of his loveliest in years. If the result was often reminiscent of avant-garde Japanese designs of more than a decade ago, Klein made experiments with draping, folding and tucking fabric his own.
He didn’t ignore the body. High-waisted, narrow skirts and pants flattered it, and obi-like wraps hugged the midriffs of long-sleeved tops and matte jersey dresses, defining the waist. Puckering created a plaid effect on wools and cashmeres, and a sheer wool dress was as sexy as graceful silk georgette gowns worn over jersey unitards.
After fractious local politics caused Giorgio Armani’s show of the Emporio Armani collection planned for Paris to be canceled last month, he announced he’d bring it to New York. When he did, it became an event, complete with an eclectic complement of celebrities, a cavernous Wall Street space converted into a replica of the theater in his Milanese headquarters, and souvenir CDs of the show’s soundtrack, “The New York Remix,” which was stamped over “The Paris Show” labels.
Armani is a consistently persuasive designer. Just when you think jackets might be obsolete and skirts are replacing pants, he can make them both desirable again. The Emporio collection, a secondary line that has increasingly acquired the beauty and elegance of his top collection, included everything from a dark denim wide-legged trousers (OK, call them jeans) to evening gowns. Fluid trousers, jackets so light they were sometimes doubled-up, a satin crepe (one playing the role of a shirt under one of velvet), delicate knits and showstoppers like a bronze chiffon evening coat trimmed in fur again demonstrated why he is the fashion industry’s gentle giant.
Savvy shoppers treasure designers like Jill Stuart. She creates clothes in the mood of the moment, adds details that make them special, makes sure that they stay realistically wearable, then sells them at a fraction of the cost of many other designer clothes. The fabric quality and workmanship aren’t equal to the pricier designer lines, but women eager for style at a price have become Stuart fans.
Her show included lush cashmeres, fuzzy mohairs and rustic boiled wools. She has successfully interpreted the girly look that made sweet floral prints and sequined tulle dresses popular, so Stuart continued her feminine streak with embroidered velvet skirts and fragile wool gauze dresses with flower appliques. Her collection summed up the season--from the simple, sporty and serene to the more fanciful and glamorous.
