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Showing posts from September, 2012

Moschino Spring-Summer 2013 RTW review

"Let's just have a good time; we got it comin'." In these days of dire downturn, you can imagine Italians clinging to the sentiments of that song from the soundtrack of today's Moschino show. Rossella Jardini joined her Milanese peers in patriotically taking up the cudgels for optimism with a collection that was as upbeat and energetic as a youthquake's shake, rattle, and roll. She actually referenced the original 1960s watershed in her new designs, courtesy of the inspiration she took from the cult classic Two for the Road, in which Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe borrowed from Mary Quant, Paco Rabanne, and Ken Scott. Jardini said she liked the slightly shrunken, doll-like proportions of Hepburn's clothes, and she certainly duplicated them in the neat, short little dresses that dominated today's show. And there,

Zac Posen Spring-Summer 2013 RTW

“The show is about glamour, elegance, and craft,” Zac Posen said right before he presented his spring 2013 collection at Avery Fisher Hall Sunday evening.  Another word that comes to mind: restraint. Posen’s hand has become lighter and lighter over the past two or three seasons; though there were a few instances when he could have chosen just one trick (either an off-the-shoulder fold or a corset on a duchesse satin evening dress, but maybe not both), he generally wasn’t trying to show too many of his skills—pleating, pin tucking, embroidery—all on one look. And the result was soft and pretty. But back to the glamour. Posen’s inspirations this season were American swans of yesteryear—C. Z. Guest, Grace Kelly, Brenda Frazier. Meanwhile, the swans, if that’s the proper word, of today were occupying his front row: Alexa Chung, Margherita Maccapani Missoni, Lily Kwong. (He also looked to the designers who have dressed them, then and now, like Norman Norell, James Ga

Vera Wang Spring-Summer 2013 RTW

“Does anyone even remember Jawaharlal Nehru?” Vera Wang calls out backstage minutes before her show, then answers herself in the next breath because the half-bare models and hectic dressers are otherwise engaged. “He was the prime minister of India.” For the better part of the twentieth century, to be exact, not that you’d really need to recall the political figure (let alone be able to spell his name) to appreciate what Wang was getting at with her stunning spring collection. Yes, the starting point was India, but Wang’s interpretation was loose. (Anything more literal, she said, “wouldn’t really be me.”) She seems to have, for the moment anyway, put aside her athletic-inspired tendencies and chosen instead to focus on the kind of sophisticated, embellished sportswear that is inarguably her sweet spot—and exactly the kind of real options for day that are what women want from her. It started with gorgeous white cotton looks that appeared clean but were far from mi

Tory Burch Spring-Summer 2013 RTW

Should you have been following the various developments of the look of spring 2013 in New York over the last few days, you might be viewing it with a feeling pitched somewhere between curiosity and trepidation. Thus far, we’ve been awash—or adrift is perhaps better—in long, languorous layers, all pale, pale, pale delicacy, with a few lingerie pieces on show (in every sense of the word) for good measure. Truth be told, some of it has been quite beautiful, but clearly how all this will transition into real life where you have to dress to go to work, date, run around after the kids, etc., etc., is another matter entirely.   Bravo, Tory Burch, then, for brilliantly flying the flag for sparkling newness without forgetting that great clothes should feel joyful and uplifting without being entirely devoid of practicality. “It’s remixing American classicism; about a girl who travels the world, and takes something from every place she goes,” Burch said backstage of her prep