New York Fashion Week starts with a message: Relax
The glamorous set had a message for economic worrywarts as New York Fashion Week kicked off Friday: Chill out.
A loose, beachy vibe infused the first collections for spring 2009, drawing inspiration from fantasies of far-off places. Tropical prints combined with an easy slouch to evoke less stressful times.
On Friday, BCBG’s fresh-faced models had the air of waking up late at a small beach resort, tossing on whatever was nearby. Perry Ellis had two words for its beach-bound customer – “leisure suits”.
When the economy slumps, some designers turn to bright colours and go beyond basics to lure customers into stores. But this Fashion Week, labels were also counting on currency-rich foreign buyers to take advantage of the weak dollar. Mercedez Benz Fashion Week continues until this Friday.
BCBG
Imagine a fashion designer in his studio, draping fabric on a model and delicately pinning it up here and there as a work in progress. That’s where Max Azria stopped with his spring BCBG collection.
The result was casual elegance. Slim pants and short-shorts rompers were mixed with loose chemise dresses – many of them one-shouldered to make the models look like Amazonian goddesses.
Several jumpsuits were included, some better than others. An extreme wide-leg jumpsuit in a wine colour with an elaborate criss-cross halter top looked more like a sexy maxi dress in the spirit of the 1970s with a modern edge, while the skinny-leg disco version seemed more dated.
A handful of looks had more of a hard-rock edge, including a black glossy vest over a high-sheen jersey dress and ankle boots. Otherwise the palette was more tonal, with Azria’s favourite shades of stone prominently featured, along with flashes of bright orange and blue.
PERRY ELLIS
Perry Ellis designer John Crocco has two words that carry all sorts of baggage – “leisure suits”. Yet on the runway the loose, jacket-and-pant combinations stood out as a style worth wearing next spring.
Crocco envisions his beach-bound customer adopting a relaxed attitude, mixing hoodie sweaters with those leisure suits, with their drawstring pants and unstructured jackets. He also offered tailored shorts in a longer board-short length and lace-up, hippie-style tops that worked well in knits and crinkled hemp but not in seersucker plaid.
Seersucker played an important role in this collection and other than that shirt, it worked well, seeming modern on a hip guy with a 5 o’clock shadow in a flared chino pant or unstructured sportcoat.
The palette was rooted in light neutrals with blue and green as accents as well as purple and pink.
