Fashion Week: Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren
With a line of models draped over chairs Thursday night, Jacobs mined different eras to shape the new look for next season.
The 1920s, ’60s and what might pass for blase in Year 2050 were represented in shades of baby blue, grass green, wine red and luminescent white. Some models wore clear ankle boots and others walked in modernesque turbans. There were beads, athletic influences and tons of tiered skirts.
Stephanie Solomon, vice president for fashion direction at Bloomingdale’s, saw Paris in the Jazz Age – fast-forwarded to today. “It was the speakeasy for the summer of 2011,” she said, “but when you looked at the innovative fabrics and how he styled it, it was very, very modern.”
Jacobs, the industry darling, usually shows earlier during the New York previews, before editors, retailers and stylists flee for Europe. But he changed his slot this go-around to allow more time for deliveries slowed by Hurricane Irene.
Joe Zee, Elle’s creative director, could get used to this. “To end the week like this is how it should be. It’s like he’s the director of this great production,” he said. “I love that it’s not a literal interpretation of any one thing. It’s a potpourri that works.”
Other collections that debuted Thursday included Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, also very influential runways, and they, too, solidified some must-haves. Put a great blazer or jacket at the top of the list, said Solomon.
“I’m not talking standard black blazers – it’s anything but,” she said.
Lauren featured “Great Gatsby” wide-legged suits – some paired with men’s ties that looked more Tom than Daisy – and Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa showed long silk and jacquard coats, worn like robes over his slip dresses. Imagine the muse of a wartime spy, dashing out in the dark.
Another classic American brand, Bill Blass, preserved the past and forged a future in the hands of Jeffrey Monteiro. He was chosen almost two years ago to revive the line after years of tough going for the company.
He showed familiar, impeccably tailored navy coats and blazers, but underneath a navy twill peacoat was a bandeau top.
RALPH LAUREN
The intersection of sportswear and elegance happens on the Lauren runway. It gives him a place on the American fashion scene like no one else.
There was a feminine hint of ruffle in a floral print, optic white menswear suits, luxe liquidlike fabrics and Deco beading were all part of Lauren’s reimagining of ’20s style.
Lauren showed great skill in balancing simple shapes the hardest thing to do well – with glamorous details: an ostrich feather scarf here or beaded bag there.
The ivory skirt suit with a hammered-satin tank top, accessorized with an embroidered linen clutch bag and ivory sandal is a lot harder to pull off than something dripping with decoration.
“He’s so renowned for desirable, memorable and modern clothes,” said Glenda Bailey, editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar.
Virginia Smith, fashion market director at Vogue, added: “It’s sort of Ralph Lauren’s world and we’re living in it.”
She especially liked the gowns – the knockout floral lame and the off-the-shoulder goddess style – among them. “They were a tour de force.”
Olivia Wilde seemed to show particular interest in the robin’s egg-blue georgette dress with beading on one hip. How fast can the Lauren team get that gown on the plane for Sunday’s Emmy Awards?
Follow
