Flowers, those sure signs of spring, sprouted up all over New York Fashion Week runways on Monday.
Marc Jacobs tucked giant, oversized flowers into models' hair. But no one did them bigger than Carolina Herrera, whose bold flowers were inspired by botanical plates from the 18th century. Flowers also bloomed at Donna Karan in muted neutrals, and they peeked through the runways of Tracy Reese and Jenny Packham.
The optimistic symbol goes hand-in-hand with the airy lightness that has prevailed so far at the spring 2011 previews that run through until tomorrow. These florals were more earthy, soft and natural than fashion insiders have seen in recent seasons. They looked like real flowers — not perfect, but alive.
Diane von Fürstenberg
Diane von Fürstenberg knows not to reinvent a good thing. She tweaks just enough to make it fresh and new.
Opening her show was a jersey wrap jumpsuit — an ever-so-slight variation to the silhouette that has made her a power player in the fashion world and a reliable source of clothes for working women. The rest of the collection was an ode to the goddess, and there was more than one outfit that borrowed from the ancient Greek kind.
Choices for next season will include a key-lime halter paired with jade Bermudas, a purple silk-jersey wrap dress with a hood, a white crêpe dress with a plunging V neck and a gold waistband, and a sheer panelled shirt dress. There was even a lame-embroidered hoodie worn with silk hot pants.
"It's a little new for me, it's very fresh, and there's a lot of casual," von Fürstenberg said.
Marc Jacobs
A lot of designers have disco danced around a 1970s muse with those billowy shapes, scarf-tied tops, gold lame and long, flared trousers. But Marc Jacobs, probably the most influential fashion force in New York, is the only one who fully asked her to dance.
He had those looks and more, including jumpsuits, hot pants, culottes and those tight striped knits popular when many in the audience were probably in grade school.The retro vibe was amplified by frizzed-out hair, metallic sparkle eye shadow, floppy hats and giant, oversized flowers in the hair, around the neck or on thick, cinching belts.
There was a bit of a tropical feel to the collection — it is for spring, after all — with one top covered in palm-tree beading. The colours included purple, orange and hot pink, all of which are showing staying power through this round of style previews. For good, glitzy measure, there were silver and gold sequins, even on some platform sandals.
Carolina Herrera
There was nothing ditzy, dated or dowdy about florals given Carolina Herrera's tasteful treatment.
A crisp white blouse was paired with a slim single-fold black pencil skirt with a daisy for daytime sophistication. A lotus-embroidered illusion blouse perfectly complemented a dramatic white ball skirt that featured a double Korean bow, her replacement for grosgrain ribbon this season.
The seed-packet motif on some looks distracted from the beautiful prints and colours, including bold, bright lipstick shades of hot pink and red, but the bird-print folded dress with its slim, chic shape was a winner.
Herrera's well-heeled woman surely will have many choices for the new season, including the fabulous shoes by Manolo Blahnik done specifically to match this collection.
Jenny Packham
Designer Jenny Packham brought with her from London a spring collection with florals, sheers and beads that fit right in.
She said she made the move across the pond to be more of a player on the celebrity scene. On the runway, she offered many red-carpet choices — a long tulle gown with an explosion of shimmery sequins, and 1920s-style flapper looks with strands of beads that practically lit up when the flashbulbs were going off.
But Packham would really get her chance to make her mark if some stylish starlet tried out her beaded evening shorts. They were refreshing and refined, but are clearly meant for young, tanned legs. An alternative would be the beaded catsuit made of sheer, champagne-coloured tulle.
