Pictured above, from L-R: Runways at Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Altuzarra, and Michael Kors.
Eric Wilson is InStyle’s Fashion News Director. Sit front row at Fashion Week with him by following him on Twitter (@EricWilsonSays) and Instagram.
In times of turmoil, designers, particularly American ones, often react with clothes that reflect a spirit of optimism, reminding us that fashion serves another purpose beyond being the basic necessity of clothes.
Fashion can be uplifting, and right now, it needs to be.“Optimistic chic” was the theme of Michael Kors’s spring collection, and it was one of the happiest shows I’ve seen in years, full of marigolds and sunshine, delightful gingham dresses and a soundtrack of “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes (mixed with other performers). Kors described his collection as “a sportif take on romanticism,” and “blue skies ahead,” which is exactly the right mood for spring.
Oscar de la Renta was upbeat too, making a big statement with gingham checks, oversized and pointedly sweet in a springtime garden collection that was so filled with blooms that the flowers were even etched in embroidery on top of a little fur jacket. Thom Browne, in a fanciful mood, also took a more lively approach to florals, adding large, three-dimensional blossom appliques to his tailored suits, including a tweed style stitched all over with fluttering feathers.’
It’s interesting to see how many designers are using gingham this season: Joseph Altuzarra, Diane von Furstenberg, Kors and de la Renta among them. Others are playing with big polka dots, like at Lela Rose (pictured, below right) and Marc by Marc Jacobs (below, left).
What’s most interesting to me is how differently interpreted these patterns tend to be from show to show.
Rose showed a big dot dress that looked destined for a blondes-only cocktail party. In the Marc by Marc collection, by Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley, they were designed for a rave, Franken-dresses of many fabrics patched together into a whole, some with twisting panels and tights made of what appeared to be latex. So it’s safe to say, there’s something for everyone in the spring collections, depending on your tastes.Of all the designers to take an upbeat approach to the season, perhaps the most pleasant surprise were the sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, who eschewed the dark side (see their Star Wars dresses from fall) for a clearly focused dip in the ocean. Their evening dresses retained a signature sense of off-kilter extravagance, with beads as barnacles, coral and anemones, and insets of what appeared to be fishing nets (pictured, below left). But the results, rather than craft like, were far more seaworthy.
It’s hard to imagine just a few days ago, Vera Wang told me she had just torn up a half dozen designs from her collection, since what she showed on Tuesday looked impressively intricate: black dresses and peplum suits with elaborate black passementerie, minidresses with more mirror crystals than a disco ball, and light floral print tent dresses made of layers of diaphanous fabric, but with enough layers that the models were not at risk of being exposed (pictured, above right). I didn’t miss whatever she threw out.
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