Fashion fans have barely had a chance to try on spring’s babydoll dresses, but the industry marches on.
Retail buyers, stylists and editors gathered in New York earlier this month to catch a glimpse of what designers have planned for next fall and winter, and shows continue for the next three weeks in London, Milan and Paris.
In the American shows, the biggest change was that clothes were grown-up and sophisticated rather than young and naive and were a little more serious in their mostly gray palette and no-nonsense attitude.
While the spring infatuation with full, flowing silhouettes and empire waistlines was still in play, designers seemed intent on displaying their tailoring skills and producing dresses and suits accessorized from head to toe with hats, handbags and pumps, not ballet flats.
“It’s all about the dress,” said Phillip Bloch, stylist to such actresses as Vanessa Williams of “Ugly Betty,” who sat a few seats from Bloch in the front row at Carmen Marc Valvo’s show. “For women, dresses have become the equivalent of a man’s suit: You put it on and you’re ready to go for the day. But they’re more embellished and decorated than in the past, even for daytime.”
And the woman who prefers to spend her working hours in suits will find feminine, rather than man-tailored, looks come fall. Fashion’s new mood was exemplified by Marc Jacobs’ collection, said Ken Downing, fashion director and senior vice president at Neiman Marcus in Dallas.
“His crisp trench coats and suits with sharper shoulders are ladylike but modern, not old-fashioned,” Downing said of Jacobs. “He dresses a woman who is 25 or 65 and everything in between. Gloves and clutch handbags gave a very precise look to the clothes. It was so chic.”
Andrisen Morton Women’s buyer Stefanie Bebesi said women will be glad to see suits. “They are very wearable and look great with slim, over-the-knee skirts. The clothes are maybe not over the top excitement-wise, but they’re beautiful, straightforward and elegant.”
Shine on
After several seasons of gold,
silver and bronze clothes and
accessories, designers could have given metallics the brush-off.
But they didn’t. From Ralph
Lauren’s shiny gold down vest to Badgley Mischka’s smoke georgette gown with crystal beading, designers continued to pour on the metals. Monique Lhuillier’s draped gowns had a burnished quality, and she also used metallic jacquards and lamé. The effect was as subtle as tweed woven with a touch of Lurex to dazzling gold gowns. Even makeup had a
metallic sparkle at such shows as Dennis Basso, where models wore bronze eyeshadow.
Shown: Badgley Mischka gown
Fur sure
Once reserved for dressy
occasions, fur and faux-fur looks popped up throughout the collection in both day and evening wear outfits. Fur trim dotted cuffs,
collars and hemlines at Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta
and Anna Sui. At Bill Blass,
a fisher-trimmed yellow matelasse jacket was worn with menswear striped trousers. Dennis Basso is known for his appliques and
embroidery, used lavishly on
jackets and coats. Fur scarves, hats, boots and even handbags
also appeared on the runways.
Shown: Bill Blass jacket with fisher cuffs
Gray matters
The color of smoke, cloudy skies and slate isn’t usually thought of as being
feminine or alluring, but that didn’t stop designers from using shades of gray in their fall lines. A predominately gray palette was used dramatically by Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein in his architecturally-inspired collection. Coats and dresses with artful drapes and pleats were shown with sweatery gray tights and high heels. The models wore pale makeup and had their hair pulled back in low ponytails,
underscoring the minimalist mood.
Despite the abundance of gray – as well as black and brown – the collections
featured flashes of purple, jade green, bright yellow and burgundy.
Shown: Calvin Klein sweaters and skirts
Taking shape
Two elements sure to distinguish next fall’s clothes will be exaggerated
collars and artsy sleeve treatments. Funnel necks, shawl collars, off-
shoulder styling and oversized
asymmetrical collars highlighted coats, jackets and sweaters from Proenza Schouler, Derek Lam, Michael Kors and de la
Renta. And when it came to sleeves, designers
offered bishop, bell, bracelet and Juliet styles, to name a few. Women will need to invest in long gloves to wear with many of the coats and jackets so as not to expose
the lower half of their arms.
Shown: Oscar de la Renta gown
Suit yourself
Welcome back, old friend. After seasons of mismatched suits or work outfits sans jackets, designers rediscovered the
matching suit. From Ralph Lauren’s cropped fitted tweed jackets with long slim tweed skirts to Marc Jacobs’ sleek pantsuits in – gasp – polyester, options abounded. For every pencil skirt shown, there was one with a soft gathered waist, and while many short jackets came down the runway, other long, belted styles were shown. Underpinnings have also changed – the lingerie look of recent seasons has given way to the soft bow blouse.
Shown: Ralph Lauren jacket and skirt
In the details
More than in recent seasons, the fashion forces showed off the skills they went to design school to learn. Pleats, shirring, ruching, elaborate seams and draping characterized the collections. Carmen Marc Valvo used sunray and accordion pleating in his gowns and even called the pleating on a cocktail dress “origami.” Proenza Schouler also loved pleats, showing such pieces as a pleated chiffon top with the added touch of jet beads at the neckline, tucked into a
slim skirt, a metallic belt further
punctuating the effect. Ruffles, gathers, fluttery sleeves, embroidery and
beading were other embellishments that gave the clothes a fancier edge.
Shown: Proenza Schouler’s pleated top and skirt
Important accents
If women buy nothing else next fall, a hat, gloves and handbag will make an outfit look of the moment. Clutch handbags
and over-the-elbow gloves in suede and colored leathers looked new in the shows. Wide-brimmed hats, close-fitting cloches and berets also were fresh, from such
designers as Marc Jacobs and Ralph
Lauren. Pumps in bright colors like chrome yellow and Kelly green were punctuation marks at Tommy Hilfiger and printed boots made a major
statement at Anna Sui. A wardrobe of tights in black, gray and sweatery knits, will also be a necessity.
Shown: Marc Jacobs hat, gloves and belt
Coat check
Quilted down parkas were fine as last year’s warm coat choice, but designers
offer a cloakroom of options for next year. Some of the prettiest outerwear was belted at the waist, such as Narciso
Rodriguez’s ivory and wool silk style,
Ralph Lauren’s back-belted check tweed number and Zac Posen’s bow-belted sheared mink design. A favorite motif of American designers is to mix sporty and dressy looks, which Lauren did in a gold shearling jacket topping a tweed skirt, or a satin ski jacket over wool skirt.
Shown: Narciso Rodriguez silk and wool coat
The U.S. male
Women’s clothes predominate at Fashion Week, but there were enough men’s lines presented to add some interest, and the big trend was slimmer shapes. Designers like Tommy Hilfiger put both men’s and women’s styles on the runway, and it’s fun to see if the aesthetic is compatible.
Hilfiger’s preppy plaids, tweeds and toggle coats were in slightly shrunken shapes, patterns adventurously mixed to lend a fresh air to his classics. At Kors, it was all about deluxe dressing with thick cashmere pullovers, melton-wool peacoats and cashmere trousers. John Varvatos showed stovepipe pants, roomy tops and some great distressed leather jackets.
Shown: Tommy Hilfiger’s tweed suit and tartan shirt
Dress success
In comfy knit, body-skimming jersey and
nubby tweed for day and luscious silk and satin for evening, dresses made an easy one-piece wardrobing option. Designers ranging from Doo-Ri Chung and Behnaz Sarafpour to Nanette Lepore liked them short and sexy, worn with high heels and tights to make legs look even longer.
Prints might be thought of as a summer thing, but they were done for fall in checks, abstracts and even newsprint themes, from Anna Sui. Color-blocking was another trend, done effectively by newcomer Lyn
Devon, who was recently named the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star.
For evening, dresses ran the gamut from
little and black to purple and diaphanous. Sure to sizzle on the red carpet will be standouts like Zac Posen’s African-violet-colored gown that was tucked and pleated and body-conscious.
Shown: Zac Posen gown
