Conservative Classics
If ever there were a season when fashion designers could be expected to rev up the show-biz value of their clothes and their presentations, this is it.
Fashion shows have by now become required subjects for television shows and Internet Web sites that are providing more continuous coverage than ever during the ongoing fall 2001 previews here. Where novelty might once have lured eyeballs to the TV screen or computer monitor, now fashion is required to be lively, informative and interesting, too. But just as consumers reject dull or ugly clothes on store racks, so too might they click the remote when yet another sensible camel coat, turtleneck sweater or black pantsuit drifts past in this season of low risk-taking clothes that aren’t readily summarized in cute catch phrases. The “season of the sensible shopper” just doesn’t sizzle.
The mild drama of the fall fashions may make bad entertainment, but the clothes themselves are great investments for the practical, intellectual, grown-up shopper who looks for quality and longevity. Rich fabrics such as cashmere and specially treated leather, along with subtle details such as small gathers or light embroidery, give these streamlined clothes their distinction--not the glitzy embellishment and bold colors of late. Perhaps sensing the tentative mood of store buyers on a recession-leery budget, many of the top names have offered classic clothes and colors that could look credible three or four years from now--an eternity in this trend-a-minute fashion cycle.
In one of the week’s better, though familiar, collections, Ralph Lauren showed how smart clothes can broadcast their elegance and refinement. Lauren returned to the polo fields for his equestrian-themed collection of riding pants, horseshoe-buckle belts and riding jackets. Others might have ridden the idea to exhaustion, but he gently expanded the idea by mixing classic patterns of windowpane or houndstooth and even paisley in a palette of chocolate, cream, taupe, olive and black--the top colors of the season. The collection is easy to personalize with skirts long or mini, pants flared or slim, and a choice of toppers from fitted suit blazers, shearling motorcycle jackets, houndstooth maxis and plaid capes. Sporty evening wear rarely looks elegant, but he made convincing arguments for beaded paisley gowns and “tuxedos” cut into jumpsuits or even riding pants.
A clever theme can unify a collection, or when it’s taken too literally, strangle it. Unfortunately, Michael Kors’ luxury equestrian clothes for men and women seemed better suited for the anti-trendsetting Queen of England than for hip royals and rich wannabes. The blast of riding silk colors--red, orange, Kelly green and yellow--in turtleneck sweaters, flowing cashmere coats and even sheared minks enlivened the matronly plaids, but not even the skin-tight riding pants could tilt the dowdy weight of gaucho pants and quilted barn jackets that seemed more tack-shop ordinary than Hermes extraordinary.
Cynthia Rowley also walked the tightrope with her circus-themed collection, which had too many awkward clown collars and harlequin patterns. The simpler tuxedo looks, sparkly sweaters and jumbo wide-wale corduroy coats performed without a hitch.
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The best runway dramas ultimately have to come from the clothes, however. The slew of New York and Palm Beach socialites who filled Oscar de la Renta’s audience weren’t alone in picturing themselves in his strong collection. From the first black cashmere sweater and low-waisted, pleated tweed skirt to the last crystal-crusted black velvet ball gown, De la Renta showed why he’s a hot Hollywood designer. One can swagger in a cowl-neck red leather shell and mini; be fabulous in a suede and patent-leather patchworked coat; get cozy in a cardigan sweater glamorized with a huge fox collar; or flutter in feather-trimmed dresses, camisoles or even sable jackets at night. He made fall’s trend for pairing tall boots with evening wear look sexy. It works because of those naughty fishnet hose under his hot, beaded mini-dresses.
The same kind of clarity was missing at Halston, though the same socialites air-kissed designer Craig Natiello and enthused about his new lower-priced daytime clothes.
Marc Jacobs, the idol of the young, pampered set, tamed only slightly his penchant for cutesy, iconoclastic clothes (knicker-length tuxedo pants or wrinkly, boiled-twill suits, anyone?). Jacobs is long on buttons-and-bows girlishness, which showed up in pea coats with giant buttons, bunny prints and dresses with trompe l’oeil collars and no room for hips or a bust line. At least the pleat-edged double-face cashmere straight skirt and trim coats looked mature. Jacobs seems to have grown up as a designer, as this collection showed a level of workmanship and control that hasn’t always been present.
Jacobs skewed even younger with his lower-priced Marc by Marc Jacobs collection, where deeply faded and deeply cuffed tight jeans coupled with graffiti-printed sweatshirts, quasi-military cavalry jackets and fluffy dresses for a fresh take on tough-and-tender looks.
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In his highly anticipated third collection, Miguel Adrover showed why experience is the necessary partner to talent. Craftsmanship on his Middle Eastern-inspired collection was expert, but his vision veered broadly: maxi, loose-fitting djellabas; trim wool harem pants; Victorian-era high-neck blouses; cartridge vests; and military garb worthy of British colonials. Toss in a few “soot suits” rubbed with black grit, too. The standouts were his knits, such as a basket weave cardigan, and tailored pieces, such as a two-toned number in camel and chocolate over a sweeping chocolate skirt. His worst idea was putting hot lights, burning incense, kerosene heaters and a packed crowd in a fabric-swathed room that created a scary fire hazard.
American-born Narciso Rodriguez’s first collection on home soil followed the lean, clean themes he’s demonstrated in his many Milan shows. While he cuts nice, black and white streamlined sportswear and makes pea coats look fashionable, where but the runway does a person wear a short-sleeved, down-filled leather jacket?
Balancing the pressure for newness with the retreat to classics has produced other uneven collections. Many designers employed asymmetry to relieve the predictability of otherwise standard little black dresses or tweed suits. When even traditionalist Carolina Herrera is working with all kinds of diagonal cuts, leather and avant-garde bubble-hem skirts, you know fashion is in an uncertain state. To her credit, all but the bubble hems were graceful, and customers will probably treasure their cherry leather or gold-flecked tweed coats and simple stretch satin gowns.
Failing to offer a foolproof interpretation of a new trend can confuse customers and brand a designer an unoriginal imitator, a criticism often leveled at Max Azria of BCBG. Yet his more upscale collection offered leather coats, dresses and even corsets nicely detailed with embossing, beading, crocheting or scalloped edges. A set of tuxedo looks and pin-tucked dresses were sophisticated evening options.
The slanting angles of Vivienne Tam’s asymmetrical hems, however, seemed to shove her off balance in a collection that seemed like a Melrose Avenue knockoff of her own look. Flimsy jersey fabrics looked limp, especially next to her more interesting leathers in unusual crackled, colored and embroidered finishes. She regained her footing with richly beaded evening pieces.
Evening wear has often dominated New York runways precisely because it’s the lush, dramatic stuff that makes a good show. Without a coating of sparkle, many designers seem handicapped. In their lightly embellished evening dresses, Badgley Mischka offered new but indefinite silhouettes that seemed as demure as the studded leather daytime suits were tough. Christina Perrin’s gowns have often dazzled along Hollywood red carpets, but her awkward one-sleeve gowns and red leather pantsuits with beaded tops were trying too hard to be hip. Douglas Hannant’s uneven hems, complicated, draped jackets and skirts seemed to bear little relation to the Bauhaus architecture theme that inspired his collection. In every case, these evening wear designers’ simplest pieces were best. Subtle style, evidently, is much harder to achieve when decoration is your forte.
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But clothing doesn’t have to be all flash and dazzle to be good fashion, or for that matter, good entertainment. To highlight his request to donate clothes to a charity, Kenneth Cole screened a video spoofing celebrities giving their clothes to the cause. The show began on that hilarious note and continued with pretty purple or bone leather miniskirts and dresses that are nice additions to a wardrobe of bomber jackets and other military-inspired sportswear for women. The hot shoes? Tall, strap-wrapped spiky boots.
The new Mrs. Barry Diller--Diane von Furstenberg--tried on a ladylike new look that gave her wrap-dress fans something warm to throw into the mix. The solid-color wool flannel coats, tweed pants and wool jersey turtlenecks lost none of the designer’s trademark feminine allure, however. Her version of the trend for shawls, stoles, scarves and other things to wrap about the neck included an inventive cowl-neck “shawl” that sits on the neck and shoulders like a truncated sweater.
Not every designer older than 50 is getting ready to freelance at Talbots. Tired of the clothes in her closet, perennial teenager Betsey Johnson created a new wardrobe and sent it down the runway on Betsey clones. The tutus, fishnet stockings, hip-hugging capri pants, corsets and gloves created a sort of sci-fi can-can girl crossed with Madonna’s “Desperately Seeking Susan.” The thought of a mature woman in these looks is scary, but in fashion, that’s entertainment.
