Sidestepping the straight and narrow
Anyone who lost faith that American designers can change the direction of fashion had a come-to-Jesus moment on Tuesday. The buzz word coming off last season may have been “minimalism,” but its master, Narciso Rodriguez, presented a knockout fall collection that turned minimalism on its head with unlikely fabric combinations and mod color-blocking, glass beads and plastic paillettes.
The fall shows continued this week with sportswear and evening wear collections from some of the hottest new talents, many of them from Southern California, including Orange County’s Trovata and Pasadena-based Rodarte. For day, the focus stayed on an elongated silhouette. The newest jackets are box shapes, boleros and shrugs, with sleeves that are wide, cropped or puffed up. Those are offset by skinny pants, leggings or pencil skirts. For evening, black and white are strong colors, with injections of rust, peacock blue and yellow. And spring’s metallics haven’t lost their luster.
At Rodriguez, there were shades of Mondrian in the first graphic black-and-white shift, constructed from a mix of wool, silk and linen panels and worn with black and white suede go-go boots. More than just tracing the body’s curves, the arch of seams over the back of a black wool pea coat was decorative, a departure for the designer. The choice of shiny black mud cloth, which reads somewhere between rubber and leather, for horizontal panels across a black wool dress was sexy in an Angelina sort of way. That mud cloth also looked great as a tank with wide, angled straps, paired with a powder pink pencil skirt -- demure with a hard edge.
Rodriguez, the consummate modernist, embellished with the simplest of materials. A black shift dazzled with whisker-like glass beads, reminiscent of iron filings on a magnetic toy. And a woven silver chain dress fell somewhere between a knit and chain mail. But not everything was based on a straight silhouette. The final dress was a dreamy empire style in white silk faille with clear plastic straps and a sprinkling of black plastic chips on the bodice.
If Rodriguez is the contemporary modernist, Michael Kors is the classicist. For fall, his riff on American sportswear was collegiate, with a dash of Daisy Buchanan and Ali MacGraw circa “Love Story.” That added up to preppy pea coats, one in a fabulous navy-and-white tie-dye melton, cashmere twin sets and charcoal knickers that looked wearable, accessorized with kiltie handbags and cordovan penny loafers. Jumpers belted low on the hips, worn with argyle socks and crew neck sweaters, were right out of the 1970s, as were skinny brocade pants, topped by mother’s mink capelet.
Of course, Kors’ kids aren’t at state college; they are rich, rich, rich. So, long, lean striped rugby dresses came in soft cashmere, and a plaid silk georgette shirt dress with brass buttons was trimmed in mink. Dropped-waist flapper dresses in navy and black silk georgette were adorned with bands of paillettes or loops of crystals. Kors didn’t break any new ground here, but the purity of his vision is always refreshing. Unlike so many designers today, his work is never overworked or over-thought.
Trovata’s twentysomething designers John Whitledge, Jeff Halmos, Sam Shipley and Josia Lamberto-Egan would have done well to have given their collection more thought. The newest industry pets, they were this year’s winners of the $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award. So expectations were high for their show, held in a firetrap of a club near Times Square. The scene -- a runway decorated with fake snow and taxidermic woodland creatures, a family of yodelers opening the show and an adorable Saint Bernard rescue dog closing it -- could have been lifted from an Alpine-themed frat party.
And that’s part of the charm. Only the clothes, sold at Barneys Co-Op stores, were a retread of Abercrombie & Fitch. A pink tweed inverted pleat skirt with silk floral print insets, and a Tyrolean knit dress with a pompom-ended sash were the best pieces. But tweed jackets and trench coats with mismatched buttons have been in every one of Trovata’s collections. It’s time to move on. Sure, these guys are surfer cute, but they’re going to have to do better than this.
Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra are another set of new designers who could benefit from flexing their creative muscles. This season brought more of their elegantly draped wool jersey wrap dresses, the best in a rust color with a cowl neck and soft pleats on the side.
They did introduce a few less-than-compelling separates -- a moleskin jacket and straight pants -- but what else can they do?
Rodarte, the label designed by Pasadena sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, is off to a more auspicious start. The presentation, at the Upper East Side Ukranian Institute, was full of achingly beautiful evening wear. An ivory sleeveless micro-pleat gown with a panel of swirling embroidery on the back was as pretty as a butter-cream frosted cake. And the unexpected rivulets of pinked ruffles down the back of a chic ivory column made for an enchanting exit.
There were separates, too, including a softly ruffled black bolero with flowers embroidered on the shoulder, worn with cigarette pants.
Only a few times did they stray into over-design, on a white suit with pinked ruffles on the sides of the pants and a coat covered in fabric petals.
Another hotly anticipated show was Marchesa, designed by the London-based Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, who have skyrocketed to stardom over the last two years, dressing the likes of Felicity Huffman and Renee Zellweger. Atop Rockefeller Center at the Rainbow Room, the show was attended by a who’s who of fashion, along with Chapman’s beau, Harvey Weinstein. The collection, their first ready-to-wear, was composed of 20 gowns, at times intriguing, at times too much. They took inspiration from the East, and one of their best pieces was a simple strapless black cocktail dress with an obi belt at the waist and a fan-like bodice. Another standout was a strapless smoky lavender ball gown with a black silk tulle overlay, perfect for tripping the light fantastic on the Rainbow Room’s revolving dance floor. A few looks could have used a lighter touch, namely a dress constructed from a half-dozen paper fans, which could land a starlet on the worst-dressed list.
The Carlyle Hotel’s Bemelmans Bar was where Los Angeles-based Barbara Tfank presented her first runway show, inspired by the screenwriter Anita Loos (“The Women”). A pianist tickled the ivories as models walked out in elegantly tailored 1950s-inspired suits, bateau neck shifts and smocked coats, showcasing Tfank’s love of superior textiles. Standouts included a peacock blue arabesque print suit, trimmed in mink, and a black striped organza shirtdress. Every piece was beautiful, if a bit too tasteful.
The same could be said of Monique Lhuillier’s party clothes: A black bell-sleeve lace cocktail dress with tuxedo ruffles down the front, a peacock blue strapless taffeta balloon-skirted dress worn with a cloud-like black tulle shrug and a garnet taffeta off-the-shoulder gown with a full ball skirt were impeccable and safe.
Behnaz Sarafpour continued to explore themes from her spring collection. Gray flannel kilts were embellished subtly with bits of lace and worn with satin T-shirts with trompe l’oeil bow ties or cashmere sweaters overlaid with lace. Velvet dresses with necklaces sewn into them were pretty, if a bit similar to Jeanne Lanvin’s from a few seasons back. What are sure to be an even hotter commodity are the jeans by Behnaz Sarafpour for Earnest Sewn.
The skinny styles had subtle lace appliques around the pockets; they looked awfully chic for a pair of jeans.
Derek Lam touched on many of the season’s trends, pairing black leggings with high-profile tops, such as an oversized gray cowl-neck sweater, a salt-and-pepper tweed A-line coat, a luxe fox-trimmed trench coat and a dramatic, ruffled velvet evening cape. Wide tuxedo pants had nautical touches, with velvet stripes down the sides and gold buttons in front.
But they were a bit derivative of Balenciaga from a few seasons back. Lam has enough talent; he doesn’t need to rely on second comings.
