Fashion shows are often dramatic, rarely emotional, but there was more than a tinge of genuine, heartfelt feeling amidst the heady expectation at the Oscar de la Renta show at New York Fashion Week on Tuesday evening.
The show was the week’s hottest ticket, which explains the presence of Taylor Swift and her BFF, model Karlie Kloss, in the front row of the packed room at de la Renta’s offices overlooking Bryant Park.
Why so emotional and significant?
De la Renta died in October last year aged 82, leaving a legacy of style and society, gorgeous gowns for the cream of the crop American life; unusually, he also left behind his successor, Briton Peter Copping.
Copping’s first day on the job: attending de la Renta’s celebrity-studded funeral.
Copping wrote of his regrets at never getting to actually work alongside de la Renta, as had been the plan, in the notes accompanying his first show stepping into de la Renta’s shoes. Members of de la Renta’s family, who run the business, did appear emotional.
The pressure — to walk the de la Renta line, yet not allow the show to become a mausoleum — must have been immense.
Relax, future first ladies, Park Avenue ladies who lunch, and pop princesses — everything you always loved from de la Renta is intact, and seen through new eyes. It was beautiful, intricately detailed, fun, and should keep those watching the bottom line happy, because it delivered the goods: suits, separates, gowns. Copping didn’t get a standing ovation, but he got extended, heartfelt applause.
The gowns are what you look for most at de la Renta — blooms of flowers, colour, romance, with a New York knowingness rather than Parisian dreaminess. Copping, who moved here from Nina Ricci, referenced it all. Hair in chic chignons, black and white check, opera gloves (a nod to de la Renta bride Amal Clooney, or is this actually a thing now?), florals as prints or as giant blooms, fashioned in fabric and used to build a little strapless dress. Kendall Jenner was there, mid-show, in a maroon and black gown. There was raunchy black lace,
But let’s not forget the beginning, the separates and suits for the power set that can and want to look feminine while they are leaning in. Black, red and white combined in a peasant look before becoming a sharp suit, with a high frilled collar; or with a lacy collar, or, yes, a turtle neck. Lots of turtle necks, on printed silk blouses, that had an air, just an air of the 60s. Bejewelled cropped jackets, a black skirt that ends in fur, a tiny, perfect peplum on a fuchsia suit. Or, because not everyone loves a skinny belt, a loose blue felted wool jacket over a matching skirt.
What would Taylor wear? Knowing her predilection for leggy looks, a couple of abbreviated strapless cocktail dresses, especially one with a pointy black bustier bodice, or an electric blue-black combo. Or at least that’s what it looked like as she sat across from Barbara Walters and whispered in Karlie’s ear as the model walked past.
