Designers at New York Fashion Week had a new tactic to woo back wary customers: flowers.
Those lovely symbols of spring renewal emerged through rain-drizzled gloom on Sunday on Mercedes Benz Fashion Week’s fourth day. But that doesn’t mean everything was roses — the floral patterns looked like flowers after the rain, a little worse for wear.
Muted florals were blurred like they had been caught in a downpour. The sense was one of transition: Spring is coming, but not undaunted.
Retailers should be satisfied with the pops of color, something they want to draw customers into stores. Yet the colors aren’t so bright they require sunglasses — designers are aware of the gloomy context, too.
DIANE VON FURSTENBERG
Diane von Furstenberg followed her successful formula of mixing high-fashion concepts with relatable pieces: This spring, the theme is queen of the desert.
“Diane von Furstenberg can do no wrong,” said stylist Mary Alice Stephenson. “It’s always a perfect mix of what editors want — over the top, gold embellishment — but there’s also those little dresses that everyone wants.”
What will there be a clamor for? Perhaps the green macrame dress, or the gold bomber jacket. There’s also the tie-waist, draped lavender tiger chiffon dress and her standby wrap dress, this time offered in an orange print.
The sunset colors, including burnt yellow, orange and purple, as well as greens and blues, are in line with the dominant palette so far this Fashion Week, and the runway had the requisite not-too-perfect florals.
DKNY
Trees grow in Brooklyn and flowers grow in Greenwich Village, at least on the DKNY runway.
Donna Karan called her collection a “city garden party.” In this urban setting the florals aren’t all pretty and perfect, though. She favors prints for spring that are either a casual doodle or an exploding sequined peony.
The show kicked off with a black-and-white scribble-blossom skirt suit that was trim and fitted, one of several professional looks offered in this line that normally caters to a young woman’s time off. Karan, though, has been quite vocal in recent months about the tough business climate and has said she’s done what she can to adapt — maybe that includes getting almost 24/7 wear out of clothes.
Some of the best suits were tailored blazers with shorts and, don’t be scared, bright pink bike shorts that she called “Smoothies” underneath. True, not a look for everyone, but with the right attitude and figure, this was a modern twist on an old standby.
LELA ROSE
The skies cleared and it was like Lela Rose made it happen. Her spring collection was upbeat, wearable and, dare we say it, pretty.
She drew inspiration from the waves, surfers and scuba divers of Venice Beach, Calif., with colors borrowed from daybreak and sunset. There were a few pieces, including a green one-shoulder dress with rows of vertical blue laser-cut fabric, that mimicked the rolling tide.
Rose showed a knack for chic daytime dresses (actress Mariska Hargitay was wearing one in the front row). A sea-glass blue cotton dress with an open neck, drawstring waist and zip front would have been perfect on this Indian summer Sunday in New York.
Some designers have toned down the glitz as a nod to the recession. Not Carmen Marc Valvo.
Valvo’s spring 2010 collection was rooted in gold and shown at a cocktail party inside the NASDAQ building. The designer partnered with the World Gold Council and displayed the line on three separate jumbo-trons in Times Square.
Subtle, it was not.
But Valvo’s philosophy is that in ugly times, people want beautiful clothes. Glittery as it was, Valvo said his inspiration was modern armor for the urban jungle. Indeed, one of the highlights was a black chain-embroidered cocktail dress, a sort of elegant chain mail worn with a black metal organza trench.
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