New York Fashion Week: At Donna Karan, big hats, bra tops, brushstrokes

Donna Karan’s inspiration often includes far-flung locales such as Africa, Bali and Haiti, but it always comes back to New York City.

This season was no different. Taking a break from power suits, urban Zen, saving the world and all that terribly meaningful business, she decided in her show Monday to paint the town -- or at least her collection -- red, as well as black, tan and blue, with scribbles, splashes, strokes and sequins evoking the art on New York streets.

This was Karan gone wild, from the super-sized hats by Stephen Jones to the sultry bra tops. (The first look was a black crisscross-front bra top over an ivory-and-black brushstroke poplin full skirt.)

Bra tops from Donna Karan, the woman who invented the bodysuit to cinch it all in? That’s right, bra and crop tops are taking over the spring runways here this week, just like they took over the red carpet in Hollywood.

But even if you’re firmly against the bare midriff, and anyone over the age of 30 probably should be, this was but one element of Karan’s spontaneous and spirited vision. There was also a strong undercurrent of 1950s primness, which we also saw Sunday in Diane Von Furstenberg’s Cote D’Azur-themed collection.

Key pieces: Pleated full skirts and simply structured dresses graffitied with bold strokes, embroideries, appliqués, even bar codes. Midi-length flounce skirts worn with button-down poplin shirts tucked in. Street-art-print pencil skirts and blouses. Easy, draped, body skimming jersey dresses in rich red or basic black. Confetti-like tweed linen skirts and jackets. Bra tops worn with ball skirts for evening. Sculpted wedge sandals.

The verdict: At times, this was a whole lotta look. And being a walking canvas is not for everyone. Still, it was really refreshing to see Karan unleash her inner Basquiat and have fun with color, print and embellishment.