SPRING AWAKENING

by Barbara Barton Sloane


Keeping with Diane von Furstenberg's theme, “Rock Goddess,” her spring collection featured many “frock stars.” The mood was breezy and in a nod to the seventies, the models wore flowers and feathers in their loose hair, plissé gowns, short tunics, safari dresses and denim flares. There were prints that pop and a particularly eye-popping number was an orange, ethnic-inspired print dress which fell just above the knee with sheer, billowy sleeves and a v-neck created in filmy chiffon, a look that has become a DVF signature. Most pieces were boldly colored, some trimmed with crystals and beads. And should von Furstenberg’s hippie chick long for a touch of elegance – a subject with which the designer is on intimate terms – there was a gold jacket and tuxedo shorts. Glammed up at this rather dour economic time, the overall effect was one of unbridled optimism, something we can use right about now and if it comes in the form of a floaty, flirty dress, so much the better.

The boys – Badgley and Mischka – have been together for 20 years, and this spring they’re opening their first store on – where else – Madison Avenue. A celebratory time for the duo, and their spring collection is, indeed, something to celebrate! Ever looking forward, the look for spring is a pared down lineup of styles with a modern twist. Lightweight is the word here – “everything weighs ounces,” Mischka tells us. Satin, gazar, and without the jewel encrusted surfaces of late. A model with a lighter-than-air, cream lace number floated down the runway, the dress accented with a matching cap-sleeved coat evoking an ethereal theme. “We’ve just sprinkled fairy dust,” Badgley said of this collection. They have, indeed.

Printastic! Nicole Miller indulged her love of prints, and for spring it’s mosaic patterns. When it comes to global inspirations, Miller is a frequent-flyer. On a trip to Haiti, Voodoo caught her attention and has inspired the spring collection. One exuberant print even featured rows of Voodoo dolls. Evoking the exotic, Miller sent down the catwalk a super cool frock, celery in hue and with a graphic print pattern that popped. Keeping the looks balanced, however, Miller grounded the magical with the practical showing men’s wear inspired pieces – boyish blazers and cropped slouchy trousers. Overall this tomboyish inflection gave Miller’s spring collection a happy, “up” feel.

Other designers' collections for spring may have a “batten down the hatches” feel. Not so for Carolina Herrera, whose customers have recession-proof portfolios. And if they don’t? Well, you can be sure they’re not going to let
it show. Her color palette paired hot persimmon with hibiscus, tweed trimmed teal faille, and in true Herrera fashion, black and white continued to play a starring role. Fresh and fabulous was a black pencil skirt ending just above the knee paired with a sweet white crepe shirt, big black and white flowers cascading down the front. Scaling back embellishments, here spring is about the ruffle. Herrera has always featured skirtsuits but this season we see short jackets with trousers cut cigarette-style and ending several inches above the ankle, a la the toreador. Pretty party dresses in unstructured chiffon gave the look of sexy lingerie and fit the bill for spring’s dinners, galas and art openings.

The first frock making its way down the runway at Blumarine was a nude draped halter dress with a demure ruffled neckline which suggested this might be a spring collection differently inspired. Continuing the nude color palette, Molinari showed crisp beige cropped trousers with matching top and bright blue cumberbund cinching the waist. But Anna Molinari is a gal who never met a sequin she didn’t like and after that spare introduction, it was back to her familiar embellishments. Beads and yes, sequins made an appearance on pretty, feminine cardigans, as well as on waistlines of pants and necklines of tops. Draped mini dresses and gowns of tulle were a refreshing respite after so much glitz.

On Dennis Basso’s mind this season was clearly East Coast blueblood weekends. Southampton, Nantucket, you get the picture, with patio and terrace dressing, as he explained before the start of the show. Perfect for a Parrish Museum opening was his flirty, tobacco colored satin skirt with a large gay flounce at the bottom topped with a white shirt worn casually open at the neck. Striking just the right air of insouciance, i.e. “I’ve got it but I’m not really flaunting it!” How do you work one’s signature fashion – furs - into cool evenings lounging in a wicker chair on a patio? Basso has somehow managed that, keeping his furs light, breezy and somehow seeming right even on a Nantucket evening in June. Broadtail boleros worn over filmy garden print chiffon frocks somehow struck the right note.

Down came last season’s gold antlers and up went a Moroccan lamp. North Africa has inspired Ralph Lauren for spring, bringing to mind Yves Saint Laurent. However, Lauren has been creating now for more than 40 years and has taken inspirations from every continent but Antarctica, so if the Moroccan theme was a tasteful, respectful nod in the late Parisian designer’s direction, it was still a fresh look at some of Lauren’s past biggest hits. We saw inspired takes on the silk-satin slouchy silhouette, bronze or white linen suits worn with matching shirts, and great, swaggering trenches in buttery leather and parachute silk. Soft dressing for spring/summer was rendered beautifully in a clean and easy outfit of white linen, harem-cut pants worn with white shirt and jacket and polished off with a wide brown leather belt worn loose and low. Kicking up the glamour, Ubah Hassan, a model from Somalia, resplendent in a gold lame column gown and beaded headdress, closed the show. Kudos to Lauren for addressing the diversity issue on the runways, and for a collection well done.

Dsquared 2 revisited Charlie’s Angels. Using Esther Canadas, Fernanda Tavares and Nadege to play Jill, Kelly and Sabrina, the trio strutted out in long brown jersey dresses accented with topaz stones to stunned applause. However, Dan and Dean Caten resisted the urge to go kitsch and instead they focused on sportswear, the all-American kind that they excel at, keeping with the seventies’influence. Two of the strongest looks – a long, lean three-piece suit in Bianca Jagger white and a filmy strapless gown with ruffles at bust and hem. In a decidedly Angel Jill outfit, a model sauntered down the runway wearing trousers in a pale toast color, the jacket denim, of course, and embellished with a bounty of buttons a la Sergeant Pepper. There were several cutout swimsuits with gold chain details, but happily the show didn’t feel peep-showish as it has sometimes in the past. Altogether, it was one of Dsquared 2’s most wearable collections in seasons.

This season, designers put basic black and stark white on the back burner, favoring, instead, vibrant hues, fresh florals and crisp, ethnic prints – the essential looks of Spring and Summer.