Old world meets new at NY Fashion Week
11 September 2007 09:57
De la Renta dresses the black-tie set, and the offerings for them ranged from a red column gown to a fitted gold tulle gown with mirrored beads all over it. For cocktail parties, there was a bubble-hem strapless dress in an ikat print that mimicked jewels in deep green, ruby and yellow. (Ikat prints, based on a weaving technique native to Uzbekistan, have become somewhat of a staple in de la Renta's collections.)
At New York Fashion Week on Monday, everything old felt new again. Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera showed that old world style still has a place in fashion. Both made classic styles feel fresh.
And why fix what's not broken?
De la Renta reliably offered a lot of embellishment, color and a bit of pomp, while incorporating this season's trend of earthy prints and organic materials. Herrera went back to her roots, full of the rich colors and feminine touches of her native South America, with just enough spice to make it sexy.
Still to come Monday were Anna Sui and Marc Jacobs. New York Fashion Week lasts eight days, previewing the spring-summer looks of 100 or so designers.
OSCAR DE LA RENTA
The words "classic with a modern twist" might very well be the most overused phrase in fashion. But it also may be the only way to describe Oscar de la Renta's spring collection.
De la Renta put on a real show, moving his runway from the Bryant Park tents to a former church on Park Avenue. Instead of a DJ spinning thumping beats, The Polyphonic Spree, a funky choir, provided the background music. And there were Victoria Beckham and tennis star Roger Federer in the front row. (When Federer took his seat next to Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, the rest of the crowd gave him a round of applause for his latest U.S. Open championship.)
Each season, de la Renta turns out a mix of gowns, suits and chic little dresses for his uptown customer. This time, prints featured leaf designs and wood carvings, beads were crafted into flowers and the palette included many earthy neutrals. Even the grand finale dress, with a giant black feather tucked into the black waistband and a full ballskirt, had a certain restraint.
De la Renta dresses the black-tie set, and the offerings for them ranged from a red column gown to a fitted gold tulle gown with mirrored beads all over it. For cocktail parties, there was a bubble-hem strapless dress in an ikat print that mimicked jewels in deep green, ruby and yellow. (Ikat prints, based on a weaving technique native to Uzbekistan, have become somewhat of a staple in de la Renta's collections.)
CAROLINA HERRERA
Carolina Herrera showed a spring collection on Monday that went back to her South American roots. One gown was quintessential Herrera: a shirtdress gown with tiers of ruffles on the skirt in a coral-based floral print.
While the designer took her bow at New York Fashion Week in a chic slim skirt and crisp blouse — as she often does — one could easily picture her in the dress that was equal parts romantic and serious. There's nothing girlie about Herrera or her clothes.
"Every dress had an important powerful detail," said Suze Yalof Schwartz, fashion editor at large for Glamour. "Finally there's a designer who designs clothes that look as expensive as they are."
Herrera adorned dresses with feathers, jet beads and sequins arranged in floral patterns.
"I would throw away every single item in my wardrobe for that one white shift dress with the feathers and black beading," Yalof Schwartz said.
Other outstanding dresses were a slipdress with a hand-painted floral design in rose that was covered by a black sheer overlay, and the daytime outfits of a red floral-print dress with blue grosgrain ribbon detail and a suede sheath dress with a white canvas collar decorated with a single white flower.
Associated Press
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