Hanging loose or holding tight
With all the voluminous tent, swing, baby-doll and trapeze dresses floating down the runway here, it’s hard not to think of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The thing is, nobody looks good in these shapeless styles that first turned up last season at Balenciaga and Chloe in Paris, not even the toothpicks modeling them. Which is why it was so refreshing at Narciso Rodriguez and Michael Kors to actually see clothes clinging to curves.
Rodriguez is a designer who feels passionately about flattering a woman’s body, and although his show opened with a little white dress, like so many have, it wasn’t designed to make the figure appear more round. Instead, it was A-line, paired with a bolero jacket with short, angled sleeves and splices above the shoulders to expose a hint of skin. How very grown-up!
It was nice to see a suit on the runway, razor sharp, with the leanest of pants cut just above the ankle and jackets nipped at the waist with flirty peplums. And it was a clever idea to build a black patent leather corset into a white cotton jacket to draw the eye to the middle.
For evening, a scoop neck tank dress shimmied with black, red and gray plastic chips and a white slip of silk skimmed the body with pieces of green fiberglass hugging either side of the waist. Rodriguez should be commended for trying to use new materials and finishes, lacquering a black nylon skirt and coat to a glossy, leather-like shine. But the molded fiberglass breastplates suspended from the shoulders of his gowns by straps no bigger than threads were awkward.
Michael Kors, who by now is known to America as a judge on the Bravo TV series “Project Runway,” focused on body-conscious pieces inspired by the world of dance, such as a black stretch jersey “rehearsal skirt” layered under a nude cashmere kimono sweater, and a black wool blazer made into a bodysuit and tucked into a smart pair of shorts. Here, patent leather belts drew attention to the waist, fastened over sweaters, gowns, even a sexy black bathing suit that zipped up the front.
There were some great basics -- a black matte jersey “Isadora dress” with a scarf trailing behind, a nude cotton eyelet trench with a crinoline skirt peeking out from underneath, and a trim little coffee-colored leather bomber jacket. And long-line blazers in blush crepe canvas or black sequins looked fresh with their slouchy shape, especially over miniskirts, and made for a very 1980s silhouette. So did the “Flashdance”-style sweatshirts, worn off the shoulder with cropped sweatpants.
Derek Lam paid tribute to icons of American sportswear, going so far as to mention them by name in his show notes -- a Claire McCardell popover dress with Amish quilting at the hem, a Bonnie Cashin khaki suede coat with, yes, a bit of swing, and a Geoffrey Beene shirt-striped tank dress with lace trim. But he also had plenty of ideas of his own, breezy linen trousers paired with a madras plaid tunic, a paper bag waist skirt in sand-colored suede topped with a khaki swing jacket and silk jersey gowns with nautical rope for straps. They were all workable clothes, perfect for the summer wardrobe.
Trovata, the Orange County-based design collective, was right to bring its collection of sportswear back to the presentation format, showing the clothes in several tableaux vivants, so guests could get a look at the clothes close up instead of on a runway. Because quirky details are the thing here -- colorful stitching on a pair of khaki shorts, a sweater knit collar and cuffs on a crisp white cotton jacket. A strapless navy blue sailor dress was darling with big patch pockets in front and rows of buttons on the bodice. And a men’s button-down shirt was lined with text from a telegram to Havana. As always, the show had a wacky theme: This time, it was an estate sale, hosted by two Caribbean salvage divers. As one buyer put it, these are clothes for people who have graduated from Abercrombie and Fitch and are ready to spend a little more money. (Trovata’s prices hover around $150.)
Rodarte’s Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Pasadena may have taken praise for their couture-quality clothing too much to heart. Their collection, inspired by the rose garden at the Huntington Library and the portraits of Thomas Gainsborough among other things, seemed to be an attempt at couture spectacle. There were moments of richness -- a dropped waist black gazar coat with a moire bow at the waist, a flamingo-pink pleated sack dress embellished with bits of lace, fabric flowers and crystals, and fuchsia wool pants with an organza bow belt, topped with a white georgette blouse with the rippling organza waves Rodarte is becoming known for.
But why did these talented young women, who were on their way to mastering elegant subtlety, resort to showing exaggerated pieces like a white organza gown with panniers and an overgrown cross-hatch tent with ostrich feathers at the hem? Women shouldn’t let women dress like parade floats.
From the very first flower-shaped dress, a Kleenex puff of pink organza, the Marchesa collection, designed by Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman, Harvey Weinstein’s main squeeze, also suffered from a lack of subtlety and a few sloppy mistakes. The label turns up on red carpets more than almost any other these days, so Mischa Barton was front and center at the show styled by pal Rachel Zoe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar wedged herself into the front row at the last minute.
A white organza mini-dress with layered bell sleeves was simple and pretty, as was a lipstick satin cocktail dress swirled into a rose. But with such a high caliber of celebrity clientele (Sarah Ferguson was there too), it was no time for amateur hour. More than once, stray threads were visible. And the back of a strapless lemon-yellow chiffon gown didn’t quite get finished, giving the audience a lingering view of the model’s bare butt.
The billion-dollar, L.A.-based BCBG business took over not one but two runways this week, between the higher-priced Max Azria show and the core BCBG show. BCBG was basically a rerun of Chloe past, with syrupy sweet lace and eyelet tunic tops and baby-doll dresses, even bloomer shorts paired with granny boots.
The Max Azria line, co-designed by Max’s charming wife, Lubov, with a new dedicated store on Melrose Avenue, was conceptual, perhaps overly so -- a gauzy sack dress with bow-like folds in front, a shapeless, silvery cotton sundress, and a striped burlap coat with sculptural sleeves.
There’s a cute story about the Azrias’ accessories designer tapping Fernando Abarca, the shop teacher at Huntington Park High School, to make the wood frame for one of the line’s chic clutch bags. But it may all be a bit much for the brand’s starlet fans. When Paris Hilton started powdering her nose halfway through, the show was already over.
