NEW YORK — There’s been plenty of talk about day-to-night dressing in these frugal times. Next season, you might try night-to-day instead.
Designers at New York Fashion Week flipped the script on Friday, incorporating nighttime glamour into daytime classics instead of leaving women to glam up their more casual clothes.
Jason Wu turned “classic” around with modern looks that evoked yesteryear in lace trim, high necks and full sleeves.
For his contemporary Z Spoke label, Zac Posen showed a navy dress that would look great for daytime with a cardigan — but take off the sweater, and the back is completely bare. Peter Som presented beaded evening pants that could be paired with a work-appropriate dress shirt.
In the second day of fall previews, designers were veering away from basics, seemingly encouraging shoppers to invest in some fancier pieces and figure out how to wear them more often. New York Fashion Week continues through Thursday.
At Jason Wu, more than 15 types of lace were featured, and it seemed everything was dipped in gold-leaf embroidery, including the models’ hair.
Silhouettes were modest, almost conservative, but colors ranging from barely there neutrals to electric blue and hot pink added youthfulness and sex appeal. Strategic sparkle didn’t hurt, either.
Wu made the modern elegant in a lace-trim hoodie parka, a feminine tuxedo-inspired shirt dress and a champagne-colored sheer blouse adorned with feathers made of beading.
Wu is known for dressing Michelle Obama, including the first lady’s inaugural gown. This season, he put into fabrics the same vibe photographer Robert Polidori used for his book “Parcours Museologique Revister,” which traced restorations at Versailles.
“The juxtaposition between the rough undersurface revealed during renovation and the opulence of the decor inspired a mixture of luxuriously embellished fabrics,” Wu wrote in his notes.
The last two gowns on the runway, a black chiffon with a huge slit up the front and a bright pink strapless with gold embellishment at the bustline and waistband, seem ripe for a starlet looking to elevate her image.
There’s something to be said for getting your glam on every day, and you can allow Peter Som to help you with that.
Pewter-color sequined pants for work? No problem when paired with a gray cardigan and printed blouse.
Facing serious winter weather? A mink-lined twill parka slides right over an orange, lace-bonded tweed suit.
The head-to-toe look of a lace herringbone coat and skirt with a white crepe shirt, and the coordinated floral-print lining of a twill-leather-and-fox coat with a sheath dress, are for women ready for a polished-yet-unstuffy look.
“It’s a young luxury,” said Tommy Hilfiger from his front-row seat. “Peter speaks to a younger woman, but not someone who is flamboyant.” In addition to his own collection, Som serves as a design consultant for Hilfiger.
Som might have gotten carried away on some outfits, though, especially with the fur sleeves that bulked up some of his outerwear and a fawn-colored dress with tiers of ruffles around the bodice that added fabric where most women don’t want it.
Zac Posen toned it down for his contemporary Z Spoke label this season. No big runway production for New York Fashion Week. No wild fruit prints. And certainly none of the theatrics that Posen was famous for with his signature label, which now gets previewed in Paris.
Instead, editors, retailers and stylists were invited to his downtown studio for individual appointments to see some no-frill clothes — clothes that women will be likely to buy and wear.
That was the thing about Posen’s grandest moments — thinking of the tornado and wheat gowns, for example: They made beautiful photos, but who could pull them off anywhere but the catwalk? But slim-cut stretch jersey dresses in navy, black and a dusty rose with Posen’s flattering technique of piecing together fabric are the sort of things that can be worn over and over again.
Loose-weave, oversized cardigans can top dresses that are office-appropriate from the front, yet have fully open backs to add spice later in the day.
There are also the more consumer-friendly prices, with dresses that would retail in the $450 range and handbags starting at $200.
