Shape of Things to Come
In a week of mostly lackluster fashion shows (and almost no partying), two young designers presented fall collections that generated a level of excitement that’s been absent from the fashion world lately.
The buzz about Zac Posen and Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquiere, both of whom showed their exquisite collections here for the first time, has been nonstop this week.
Most designers who have shown so far have played it safe, drawing on tried-and-true themes of Americana-inspired and Olympic ski-lodge looks. Perhaps that is why Ghesquiere, Posen and a handful of other Fashion Week newcomers have found such an enthusiastic audience.
None wowed the smaller-than-usual fashion crowd as much as Paris-based Ghesquiere, who is having his New York moment with a daring combination of contrasting shapes that could become a new silhouette. “I wanted to bring something very different, something that was a contrast from my past work, a contrast between sharp and loose,” said Ghesquiere, whose voluminous silhouette for this spring differs from his signature narrow looks. Now, for fall, he has combined the two.
The most original creations of his 30 pieces combined tight and loose shapes in a single garment--dresses and tops that were snug on one half of the body and loose on the other. Or a fitted sleeve on the left and a full one on the right.
He teamed narrow pants with tops or mini-dresses loaded with eccentric embellishments: patchworked cotton yarns, fringe strips and odd-shaped panels. His finely tailored coats hugged the body; voluminous gray cashmere sweaters were sleeveless and worn with short skirts or lean trousers. And finally came several stunning beige and off-white boucle tops, coats and vests that looked as if they had been crafted from shaggy rugs.
Posen, a 21-year-old native New Yorker, wowed his audience with vampy 1940s-inspired garments such as bias-cut dresses, with fishtail or handkerchief hems and plunging necklines in a collection he called “Artemis,” after the Greek deity who, according to the designer, “was a veritable encyclopedia of feminine possibility.”
Like Ghesquiere, Posen toyed with contrasts in culottes that featured one pleated and one unpleated leg. Posen, who studied at London’s Central St. Martin’s design school, says he relies on “historical couture techniques,” whether in his “she-man jumpsuit”--fierce and slender--or in a one-piece pleated corset and billowing skirt. A stunner was a red-hooded dress that resembled a raincoat.
For a finale, he sent out a column of a dress intricately constructed from strips of brown leather fastened together by more than 1,000 hand-sewn hooks and eyes. Unhooked from the knees down, the leather looked like strips of ribbon.
A tuxedo-clad Posen received a standing ovation from a crowd that often shouted out “Way to go, Zac!” as if he were competing for Fashion Week’s Gold Medal.
“It’s time for a youth movement to come out of New York again,” he said after the show. “We’ve been having a fine arts movement for a while in this country, but there hasn’t been a strong fashion movement, creatively, in a long time.”
The designer debutantes stand out because most designers, who usually show here, are taking a conservative approach. “There’s never been a more important time for new talent to emerge,” said Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth, producer of Fashion Week. “In the past we’ve always had to push people to go see the new designers. This season has been different because there has been good buzz about the new designers.” But, she adds, “a good idea is a good idea, but not if it doesn’t sell.”
Alvin Valley, another first-timer to Fashion Week, sent his guests into a frenzy with a sultry zippered leather collection inspired by the late Mexican actress Maria Felix. His parrot-appliqued black leather coats with zippered sleeves and bright yellow silk lining, as well as trousers decorated in creative ways with multiple zippers, were standouts for the architecture grad student who started with a couture line in Miami.
Noteworthy but perhaps less innovative was Los Angeles-based Rick Owens, known for his rock star creations. His models were somber, almost funereal looking, wearing caps covering their heads and necks. He paired flowing, free-form skirts, many with raw hems that dragged the floor, with corduroy and ultra-thin leather jackets.
Most designers who usually show here are taking a conservative approach, realizing that closets across America are full and that money is tight.
Departing from the pack was Ralph Lauren, who broke from his trademark New England casual looks and colors and presented an all-black, impeccably tailored collection Thursday morning. The looks, which were more formal and fitted than his usual country styles, included cashmere versions of tuxedo-styled jackets and pants as well as fitted velvet jackets and leather vests. The black, which some thought was a mournful reference to the Sept. 11 tragedy, became secondary to the fine cut and execution of the line.
Oscar de la Renta also presented a different theme: a beautiful Russian-inspired collection of fox-trimmed coats with oversized fur hats, gowns embellished with coins or plush patchwork, gypsy blouses and smocked chiffon gowns.
Otherwise, designer after designer mixed it all up, as if to say that it’s perfectly fine to take last season’s denim overalls and wear them with fall’s can’t-live-without-it mink blazer. Trends include ruching on everything from blouses to trousers, smocked tops and dresses, patchwork detailing on many garments, ruffles on shirts, cuffs on flat-front and wide-legged trousers. Jumpsuits, gaucho pants and culottes dominate the runway.
The range of looks? Kaleidoscope-patterned wrap dresses from Diane Von Furstenberg, high-collared sweaters and floor-length long-rider western coats from Catherine Malandrino, lame coats and three-piece pinstriped suits from Carolina Herrera and luxury ski looks in suede from Michael Kors. Add to the mix vintage looks from Donna Karan’s DKNY collection of worn-out leather jackets and Marc Jacob’s ‘70s-inspired corduroy bell bottoms, sweeping scarves, knit vests and hats.
The look for fall may depend on how a woman puts the clothes together, a la the odd combinations worn with much success on “Sex and the City.” But then Sarah Jessica Parker, who plays the clothes-obsessed Carrie Bradshaw, might have a change of heart after viewing Ghesquiere’s collection from her perch in the front row.
