a sleeveless dress with a sheer bodice and black skirt
For evening, things heated up with model Karlie Kloss (Gurung’s star from last season too) wearing a black halter gown with sheer tulle inserts at the hips. A similar gown in white, with scooped-out shoulders, tulle flutter sleeves, insets at the waist and a thigh-high slit, would be great on a modern bride. Hey, isn’t Jennifer Aniston pre-engaged?
In a runway season in which so many designers have been playing with colour-blocking, Narciso Rodriguez took the idea to a new level of genius, with a collection that was sublimely artistic but also down to earth in the sense that there was a lot to wear.
We’re used to seeing Rodriguez do architectural clothing with a body-conscious fit. But this time, he cut loose with something softer, lighter and more relaxed.With asymmetrical lines and bold strokes of colour, it was almost as if Rodriguez was painting with fabric.Dresses, skirts, tops and jackets were assemblages of sheer and opaque, colour blocks and wavy lines.He started with a black cap-sleeve silk shirt over a pair of white pants with a jagged black waistband, creating a stunning graphic effect.
Jagged lines gave way to squiggles down the front of a sleeveless dress with a sheer bodice and black skirt. A stunning aqua silk dress with a single cap sleeve had a subtle wave pattern fanning out over the wrap-effect skirt. And a white cotton shirt dress was a study in balance, with a bold stroke of aqua blue at one side of the hem and a black cuff on the opposing sleeve.For evening, Rodriguez worked in shades of white and more vibrant hues, the V-neck of one dress accented with orange and the skirt of another revealing a wash of aqua colour below.
Using a soft palette of seaside pales, such as aqua and seaside pink, and referencing the romanticism of the 1920s was a departure for Tory Burch, the queen of 1960s and ’70s style, brash geometric prints, boho tunics and chunky gold hardware.Now that everyone else has jumped on that bandwagon, Burch has moved on. In this, her first formal runway show, there was a new softness to drop-waist pleated silk skirts in wave or pastel geometric prints, feminine blouses, to-die-for raffia-trimmed silk chiffon jackets and sweeping floor-length dresses with matching ropes of beads.
What was impressive is how grand the clothes looked — for a more moderate price than those offered by many other designers — and the number of special details Burch was able to incorporate, such as a cursive monogram embroidered on a polo sweater and a tassel tie belt on a striped dropped-waist dress. Cotton blazers, ankle-length pants and menswear-inspired kiltie oxford shoes rounded out the collection.