![]() The runway sparks emotions because as a designer elevates one type of woman, others inevitably sink - if only subtly - in a culture's estimation.įashion always makes an argument for the self-involved glamour puss, the kind of woman whose dressing table is littered with half-used tubes of lipstick and the remains of eye shadows in every shade of the Crayola box. ![]() But a startling fashion photograph has the power to evoke responses that range from outrage to ecstasy. Observers wouldn't get so riled up about runway fashion if it was simply a matter of a few frocks. The point of all these runway shows is not simply to get women to buy the clothes, it is also to send a message on how the concept of beauty is shifting. It proclaimed ugly beautiful and disheveled elegant. It validated a snarling python tattoo or other body graffiti as proper accessories for a column evening gown. Fashion's runway once anointed the gaunt waif as beautiful. And not very long ago, with the help of Jennifer Lopez, a new standard of sex appeal was set with the appearance of a single green tropical print Versace gown cut down to the navel. There was a time when a woman arriving in a torn black nun's cloth frock might have been considered chic. Which female archetypes will win the spotlight? It helps to define what, in the coming months, will be called pretty, chic and stylish by the culture at large. For those who care little about whether Calvin Klein is flourishing under its new designer Francisco Costa or who or what United Bamboo is, fashion week accomplishes a more far-reaching task. Part of what makes this week more than just an assemblage of clothes is the way in which designers allow film, music and cultural preferences to guide their work. Karan can, with a simple wool skirt worn with a tulle petticoat and a model whose posture draws every eye, explain the magnetic appeal of a big city girl. No other designer in New York is so adept at capturing the heady thrill of urban life. With their hair pulled back and elegant makeup, the models evoked authority and the quietly confident sexuality that eludes the Cosmo girl. Against a cityscape backdrop and theatrical lights hung to create the illusion of New York's many bridges, the models walked the runway in shades of olive boucle, caramel-colored wool jersey, golden yellow velvet and feathers that incorporated the entire spectrum of autumn in Central Park. This was one of the designer's most compelling collections, in part because it was able to evoke the vibrancy and sophistication of the city without giving in to a predominantly black palette. And her rough-hewn shearlings and sheared fur coats encircled the body like a favorite blanket. Wrapped and knotted dresses expressed the sensual curves of the body without unveiling them. She used the wool jersey bodysuit as a foundation for the collection. ![]() ![]() The designer, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her business, turned back to her earliest collections for inspiration. ![]() Karan collaborated with artist William Morris and used blown glass beads and medallions as a way to embellish tank tops, low-slung belts and dresses that wound their way around the body until secured with a handmade disk. The fall shows ended Friday with the Donna Karan presentation, a sensual collection of distressed boucle and velvet that captured the romance of New York on those rare, golden autumn days that seem only to exist in postcards, movies and the imagination of small-town dreamers. Whatever the case, the scope of their vision stretches beyond the clothes on the runway to the hair, the makeup and the mood set by the music. At other times, they are moved by burnished artifice. Some seasons, designers declare a look of dispirited nonchalance most compelling. At the heart of each fashion season is the opportunity for designers to redefine the nature of beauty - whether it is with blond chignons or the swayback posture created by a pair of sharp-toed kidskin slingbacks. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |