Women's
Hey Ladies
Carolina Herrera
Ladylike dressing for Fall was the order of the day at New York Fashion Week, starting with Carolina Herrera’s outstanding separates and day dresses, which were so polished and graceful, they required no more than a cowl neck and a belted waist to captivate. A disco beat on the soundtrack felt right for the ladies to strut in self-assured American sportswear that bore a hint of the Seventies in the A-line skirts and high-waist trousers. The season’s essential wine colors were used to great effect, but so were aqua and sunshine yellow.
Donna Karan crystalized a key silhouette of the season, one that she championed in pre-fall—belted volume on top, with a below–the-knee pencil skirt. In a purely pale-neutral palette, the collection (to be offered shortly via virtual trunk show on NeimanMarcus.com) bore Donna’s hallmarks of sumptuous draping and rich textures. So sensual and feminine was this show that stylist Mary Alice Stephenson speculated via Twitter that Donna must be in love. (It was Valentine’s Day, after all.)
Thom Browne (Before)
Thom Browne (After)
Thank heaven for Thom Browne, the rare provocateur operating at the luxury level in New York. He staged his subversive spectacle as a nunnery. One by one, the “nuns” were assisted in removing their wimples and habits by twin “clergymen” to reveal madcap tailored ensembles of mixed plaids and twisted Americana. But even at this extreme, the theme of ladylike tailoring resonated like a church organ.
And finally, at Marc Jacobs, the iconic femininity of a Parisian ingenue was given a nutty, plasticized twist. The tailoring yielded contours and molded volumes.
Marc Jacobs
Pencil skirts ruled, including versions in paillettes, mirrored circles and shiny latex. The unexpected materials tempered the sweetness of lace, dots, dainty gloves, peplums and berets. The berets were mounted on headbands strapped under the chin, for a severe effect. Bags came either soft and furry, or very structured, and some of the latter gleamed in red like muscle cars.
Marc Jacobs
