A Grand Finale
Darn those temperamental bustiers; they’re enough to drive a designer to tears. Just ask Los Angeles transplant Jeremy Scott, who brought the fall collections to a rousing end with a spectacular salute to Manhattan. But he couldn’t savor the moment.
“I’m so upset. Caroline’s bustier wouldn’t stay up,” said the perfectionist backstage. Get over it, Jeremy. No one in the audience noticed. They were too busy having fun, which was the designer’s intention, with an over-the-top fantasy-filled collection that brought the tents down at Bryant Park.
As in his past shows in Paris, Scott staged a wildly entertaining presentation. But unlike the work of two other newcomers to Fashion Week, Zac Posen and Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquiere, Scott’s creations were more about showing off than putting on wearable clothes.
Still, he added a frivolity absent from a slate of shows dominated with mostly dull collections with familiar Americana-themed clothes. Even Helmut Lang, normally an innovator, knocked himself off with a redux of layers and aprons.
Fashion Week debutantes grabbed headlines early in the week, but by Friday veteran designers Donna Karan and Calvin Klein had presented gorgeous collections that brought an appropriate balance of tradition and comfort as well as refinement and simple beauty. Imagine that: beautiful, must-have clothes.
Fashion’s mood since Sept. 11 has been conservative. That was reflected in the way that many designers staged their collections in small venues, with guest lists trimmed drastically and parties scaled back.
But other things didn’t change. Photographers prowled for famous faces, often finding themselves flashing cameras at lesser-known rap singers, models, fashion editors wearing sunglasses at night or the omnipresent Kim Cattrall of “Sex and the City.” Every show still was at least 40 minutes late, several were tardy by at least an hour, and at many, guests were rudely told they had to wait outside in the bitter cold until the designers’ handlers were ready to begin.
And, despite a kinder, gentler atmosphere predicted at the start of the week, at least 30 fashion editors and buyers had the doors at Kenneth Cole’s Friday morning show slammed in their faces when they arrived by bus a couple of minutes before the presentation began. But by Friday night, Scott, 28, a fun-loving and gentle man, lifted security--the burly men even helped people onto the runway so they could get backstage where everyone was welcomed.
During the show a soundtrack blared, “Fashion is for fashion people; get out there now and break the rules.” Scott did exactly that, sending ponytailed models with severe Cruella De Vil makeup onto the catwalk in clothes that could best be described as Judy Jetson on steroids. In a world of Xtreme everything, why not on the runway?
With one of the most colorful collections seen all week--Ralph Lauren and Klein showed all black--Scott put his models in super-sized dress silhouettes with exaggerated pointy shoulders, collars that looked like man-eating Venus flytraps and deep V-shaped hip pockets.
Amid the mix of odd shapes in sherbet colors of pink, aqua, orange, purple, peach and blue were only a few wearable looks, including a blue and orange kimono-sleeved mini, an orange dress with an attached shawl and other dresses and coats with cleverly attached capes, some with two.
The closing act introduced his first evening-wear collection, which was bold and jubilant with sculptural gowns that were adorned to look like skyscrapers. The gowns were accessorized with more than $3 million in diamond jewelry. A security guard was posted at the end of the runway and three more were backstage keeping watchful eyes on the rocks.
One gown with dozens of mirrored square insets looked like windows on a high rise building; some in the audience whispered that the image eerily reminded them of the World Trade Center towers. A cocktail dress in camel leather had black leather windowpane insets. Guests gave this Fashion Week maverick a standing ovation.
Scott’s tribute to New York marked the return of the Kansas City native to the United States from Paris, where he has made a name for himself with his shows if not with his clothes. Now he plans to “become Los Angeles’ designer,” he said.
“My message is for people to experiment with fashion, to move forward into the future and most of all to have fun.”
That was a sentiment shared by Donna Karan after her presentation in her 7th Avenue showroom. “The only thing I can give New York is clothes you can feel and touch and hopefully have fun in,” she said. Now, more than ever, she said clothing “should fulfill one’s fantasy if just for a night out. We need that escape.”
Her “Manhattan Blues” collection evoked fantasy with sensible style. Her collage and Art Deco-inspired tank and bias-cut T-shirt dresses mixed cashmere, velvet, jersey and gauze, the last with which she created sexy effects. Trousers, too, were bias cut and low-rise. Ensembles, mostly in black and blue, were often paired with a man’s fedora. Sweater jackets, trench coats and padded kimono coats--all collaged--rounded out a collection that reminds us of the design brilliance that made Karan a household name.
Calvin Klein also presented simple, lovely evening gowns that were slim-fitting on top and billowed out into full bias-cut skirts. Other looks included black sheer wool turtlenecks teamed with circle skirts, tunics over pajama-styled pants, and double-breasted military officer’s coats with slouchy masculine trousers in a show where you could see the clothes--in contrast to Lang’s show.
There, models walked in threes and fours during a five-minute show at a Chelsea warehouse. In the blur, it was barely possible to see the clothes. But maybe that was the designer’s intention, because there was very little new. What caught the eye as being fresh were chunky sweaters, collage tops with lame insets and coats with satin bands at the hem.
Among other collections shown during the last days of Fashion Week, Behnaz Sarafpour, another who showed for the first time, sent out a noteworthy tailored collection of 14 pieces. Her romantic looks, which included a top with a long skirt adorned with a vertical row of small pockets that resembled finely handcrafted purses, were inspired by classical poetry. The words of Emily Dickinson were printed on a silk band belt, while Lord Byron’s were on the hem of a dress and Herman Melville’s adorned the straps of a cocktail number.
David Rodriguez, who hails from Indio, sent out a well-cut collection of olive floral print chiffon wrap blouses, skirts and dresses, and pinstriped trousers and coats with pretty floral embroidery around the shoulders. Tapestry cocoon coats with mink collars and wool knit tops with fox fringe sleeves were runway standouts.
Ralph Rucci, known for his attention to detail, presented a collection with couture-styled embroideries and beading from Paris’ Francois Lesage and hand-embroidered lace. He devoted his line almost exclusively to cashmere--sweaters, jackets, shirts and pants, nearly every garment pintucked and pieced together--and kimono shapes.
He sent out many a “red carpet” gown in taffeta, black velvet--strapless and with stoles, fluted and tubed--including one creation that featured an ostrich-leather corset with a matching jacket over a ball gown.
American fashion may be in a bit of a pause, as too many designers revisit past looks. It was largely those who showed here for the first time who rescued the week.
