8/14/2019 Presents a Clean Sweep

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201International Herald Tribune

 Friday, March 3, 2006

 T he Cacharel show was a fine example of taking theimage of a house (in this case girly femininity) and

adapting it to the mood of the fashion moment.The design duo Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro

transported the audience to a hidden garden seen by thelight of a full h arvest moon, where a palette of richpurples, dark grays and midnight blue was in keepingwith the somber movement dominating the wintercol lections.

In fact, the sphericaltheme of the moon wasfound scattered throughout

the show.It was echoed innecklaces of round rivets ona purple coat and a cap-sleeved chiffon blouse, inthe silver-dollar-shapedprint used on semi-sheertops and dresses and asdisks of fluttering fabricoutlining a collar.

By translating themoonlight into slick metallicfabrics, the designers alsogrounded the clothing intosomething more than justanother take on a pleatedskirt or shirt dress.

A delicate latticeworkknitted onto a long comfysweater added to the gardentheme. And a pair of charming russet-coloredprint dresses that movedfrom flowers at the hem to astarry night sky at theshoulders cemented theteam’s after-dark message.

— Jessica Michault

WWW.DIOR.COM

Fash ion

ROCH AS

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The show openedwell withcoats tailored at thewaist,the volume in the full sleeves and spreadingskirts. Otherpiecesworked in fur,from a Mongolianlamb coatin oldrose to a fur bomber jacket with ribbed sleeves, were co-herent with the brand.

Butwith so muchdrapingcreatinga taut, shortsilhou-ette, Dundas seemed to have started whereUngaro him-self stepped down in ready-to-wear — and that was six

years ago. Fashion moves so fast and there was no signhere of the modest grace that is the leading look of the sea-son. But as the choice of the house’s new owner, Dundasshould be given a grace period to establish his own look totake the Ungaro label forward.

Tischi, putting his densely worked Givenchy clotheswith a sensitive womanly spirit on the runway for thesecond time, surely must have been dragooned into mount-ing a fast-paced hard-edged showthat looked like Hubert(as in Givenchy) had collided with Helmut (as in Lang).

There were so many good things about the show:tailored coats lush with feathery fur at the neck and on thepockets; a courageous update of the house’s signatureblouse with inserts of scarlet lace and matching redgloves; high-rise waists refreshing skinny pants andsk ir ts.

Butwhen thesweet-facedmodelswith Gretchenbraidswere made to tote a bag in eachhand, it lookedlike therewas no confidence in Tischi’s ability to sell a dress, so bet-ter make money on the accessories.

The show proved both the power and the weakness of belonging to a large group. The parent company LVMHMoët Hennessy Louis Vuitton had done Tischi proud withinvestmentin thef inestfabrics and superb makeand fin-ish sothat a moss green topembellished with paillettes ora simpledress with tabs atthe bustlooked equally classy.But the one-size-fits-all branding viewpointput Tischi ona big runway that encouraged him to present the show-stopper sparkling scarlet dresses and Dorothy sequinedshoes that had been more poetically displayed in a presen-tation in a sculpture museum at January’s couture. And ex-actly whathe wasdrawing fromthe Givenchy archives toproject into the present and the future did not cometh rough.

There was nosmoke and mirrors at Rochas. Or rather,the smoky gray lace and reflective silk werereserved forthe clothes, which delivered a charming message. Outcame a model, carryinga miniature ladder to introduce athemethat brought the same ladder effects to headbandsand bag handles and led to patterns of black birds andcloud light evening gowns.

‘‘Iwas thinking of a littlechimney sweep,’’ said They-skens, whoseromantic approach was both delicate and apowerful fashion story. It opened with coal black trousersuits, the pants narrow and falling just low enough on hipsand crotch to make them modern. Tight vests took the lookback to the Dickensianera but, with croppedshorts, theskinny pantsuits seemed contemporary. This increasingfocus on daywear is rounding out the Rochas répertoire.

But Theyskens still shines at night. After ad ress with apattern of black birds as if silhouetted on a chimney top,the collection broke into what Theysken called his‘‘cloud’‘ dresses, catching cumulus colors of streaks andshades of gray that concluded a collection as thoughtful asit was successful.

‘‘If inally grew up,’’ saidMcCartney, greetingfront-rowcelebrities Courtney Love and Kate Hudson backstage, butwith one eye on her husband cuddling their baby sonMiller who turned 1 year old last Saturday.

Fashion wisdom has it that male designers are fa ntasistsand that women create for themselves. Maybe McCart-ney’s personal journey isa large part of herapproach, buther path from rock royalty, creating ultra-feminine li nger-ie tops and tailored pantsuits, to today’s womanly volumesis also fashion’s decade-long trajectory.

Love, saying that she had been out of the fashion loop fortwo years (referring to her battles in court and with drugs),saidshe loved, loved, loved the sweater dresses. Andwhowouldn’t? The knitted egg shapes, with a whisper(but nottoo much) of the 1980s, were winter comfort blankets. Butthe designer hadstitched in ideas, from theconcept of us-ing knitting aspart of a coat to mixes of color andtextureor even patches of silvery gleam for an after-dark edge.

The tailoring was generous in shape, with swingingcoats and pouch bags suggesting a genuine winter ward-robe. But McCartney had not lost her whimsical touch,adding high-waisted, girlish dresses, some with a jigsawpuzzle pattern; and also sporty denim.

The runway up-lighting at Celine had a crafty way of il-luminating its treasures: golfing-style high heeled shoeswith tassels or cherry bobbles attached; saucy laced cro-codile boots; buckled bags great and small; a deep beltcinching a marmalade fur coat; leather bangles (hello!brand extension!); and elbow-length gloves (yet anothernew revenue source!). This was an excellent accessoriescollection with clothes attached.

And Croatian-born Ivana Omazic did a goodjob of cre-ating just the right fashion pieces to showcase the rest.There was a sturdy herringbone tweed suit togo with thethick-heeled shoes, cropped pants to show off footwear. Aturquoise chiffon dress exactly matching the aquamarinecrocodile shoes. Above the waist, graceful portrait neck-lines bared the throat. (What! No jewelry yet?) The ulti-mate accessory was a belt with two bag handles attached. Itwas a Celine show that was sharp, clear and to the point.

Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune.

IIInternational Herald Tribune

 Friday, March 3, 2006

 T his year the house of Leonard is celebrating its 50tha nniversa r y.

With that kind of a rchive, the designer Véronique Leroysaid, she decided to look for the ‘‘best prints and colors andcreate a very sensual and luxe collection that was alsovery French.’’

This was probably the right way to go for a house that isknown for its powerful flower prints and strong colorcombinations during a timewhen fashion has taken amove to the dark side andall but abandoned its recent

flower-filled past.So for women who wantto buck the fashion trendand stay on a f lowery path,they need look no furtherthan Leonard.

The collection sent out anumber of different printswith its only nod to currenttrends being an overall useof more muted color tones,with black or blue velvetacting as a backdrop toorchids and other flora.

There was a focus on thetorso as strips of contrasting fabric gave thejersey dresses definitionand lace inserts also helpedto break up the prints.

The use of gold and blacklamé seemed forced but thesprinkling of crystals onthe long and flowingevening dress with theiroversized pinking-shearsedging was a nice touch.

— Jessica Michault

Cacharel moonlight   Florals by Leonard

Rochas presents a clean sweep

CELIN E

Photographs by Christopher Moore/Andrew Thomas

IIInternational Herald Tribune

 Friday, March 3, 2006