Fashion Week Spring 2011: BCBG, Rag & Bone, Jill Stuart, Nicole Miller, Lacoste
NEW YORK (AP) — Here’s a round-up of the first couple of days of Fashion Week in New York.
Rag and Bone for spring 2011.
RAG & BONE
Enough with the tough-girl or buttoned-up stuff: The Rag & Bone woman is ready for an adventure.
You have to hope, though, that when she’s skydiving or Bungee-jumping, she’ll pull the right ripcord and not have her parachute pants fall down. Don’t worry, these aren’t the too-baggy ’80s parachutes — they were inspired by the real deal, with rugged zippers, straps and lace-up details.
But for the yin yang that is emerging as a must-have, designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville offered crafty macrame looks, in colorful prints and luxe camel, that perhaps would be the souvenirs for their globe-trotting muse.
The palette was rooted in white, though, another popular trend during the second day of previews.
There were touches of glamour here, too — good for a girl’s night life. A gauze, mint-colored shirt was paired with silver trousers, and a sand-colored suede top was worn with a silver lame skirt that had an opposites-attract white eyelet hemline.
BCBG for spring 2011.
BCBG
Max Azria did some spring cleaning on his runway.
With no bells and whistles, the lingering look of the spring collection came from the little bit of flounce that trailed behind the models in loose white- and sand-colored minidresses and jumpsuits.
The silhouettes were airy and ethereal. Who couldn’t use a little linen dress with a bit of embroidery that could be the key piece of a weekend-getaway wardrobe?
The one potential stumbling block for many of the pieces was the super-short length. Presumably, when they hit stores, that will be adjusted, but for the likes of model Coco Rocha and actress Ashlee Simpson — both in the front row — the fingertip-length dresses would be cute.
Easier for mere mortals might be the maxi dresses, including the white silk seersucker dress with a plunging V on both the front and back that opened the show.
Jason Wu for spring 2011.
JASON WU
What white gown?
Designer Jason Wu will forever be linked — and surely thankful — to Michelle Obama for the white, one-shoulder gown he designed for the inaugural balls. But fast-forward almost two years, and Wu is a fashion force in his own right, with a stylish spring collection, new lines of handbags and shoes, a beauty collaboration (CND nail polish) and his own logo: an owl.
In a walk-up space in SoHo with a fancy curved blue runway that mimicked a stream that had “bridges” over it, the models were dressed mostly in elegant sheaths, feminine blouses and pleated trousers. Wu showed his lighter side, too: He mixed ‘80s-style bold stripes on knit pullovers with a floral chiffon draped skirt, and a floral oxford shirt unexpectedly complemented a petal-covered, gray-and-black skirt.
One lime-colored dress with a petal bustier might have gone too far on the whimsical side. Put it this way, one can’t imagine Mrs. Obama in it.
In his notes, Wu explained his choice of the owl, which he dubbed Miss Wu. It’s one of his favorite animals, both familiar and playful, he said. “Wu … Wuuu.”
Get it?
Jill Stuart spring 2011
JILL STUART
Jill Stuart plans on starting next spring with a clean slate. The new look she debuted was a drastic shift from the goth-slash-Stevie Nicks-inspired styles of seasons past.
Stuart turned out a collection of ladylike-yet-youthful pieces. Her feminine, dreamy muse was still there, but she’s done some growing up.
The white, ivory and sandy shades forwarded the optimism that has emerged in this round of seasonal previews for retailers, editors and stylists — and so did the peek-a-boo sheers (of particular note was a white-tipped, sheer-black ‘50s-style party dress), shifts and shorts suits. And Stuart offered some chic spring outerwear, including a navy evening cape, and the trend-right tuxedo and satiny high-neck blouses.
Apparently, Stuart is a woman with many fans from the world of reality TV. Kim and Kourtney Kardashian had seats in the front row, setting off a frenzy, and Tinsley Mortimer and “The City” stars took their places nearby.
Nicole Miller spring 2011.
NICOLE MILLER
Nicole Miller went for an elegant, layered look.
Thin fabrics were used in a subdued palette ranging from ivory to gray to black.
An ivory jacket was worn over a long khaki silk georgette blouse and a satin chiffon dress. A pair of black shorts were cut just above the knee, giving them a very city chic look.
But there were also long flowy gowns. A chiffon dress had a prism print on it, while a jacket had cutout shoulders revealing the skin.
VIVIENNE TAM
Vivienne Tam spring 2011
Vivienne Tam looked east for inspiration for her spring 2011 collection, a line she dubbed “the new silk road.”
The collection was heavy on lace and patchwork in a slouchy, loose style that gave off a modern bohemian vibe.
Tam’s clothes were fit for a global traveler — the cotton lace patchwork minidresses and jackets that opened the show would have been as at home in a Parisian market as on the Silk Road.
In notes left for editors, stylists and retailers gathered for New York Fashion Week, Tam dedicated the show to the people who survived devastating floods this summer in China and Pakistan.
Lacoste spring 2011
LACOSTE
Lacoste turned to its tennis-design past, outfitting models in a modern take on decades-old tennis pants. The high-waisted pants were baggy in the thigh and tapered at the ankle.
“I was thinking of always this 1930s, 20s tennis look of Rene Lacoste, with pleated flannel white pants, tennis pants … and making it contemporary,” designer Christophe Lemaire said.
Lemaire’s show, his final one for the brand, featured boxy, geometric, clean shapes with a lot of white, cream, orange, tan, red and black. He also used different textures like net, cotton and nylon.
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