Old world elegance meets fresh, modern style

Nanette Lepore
There were no rules of the runway for Nanette Lepore: Stripes were mixed with florals; bright orange and pink blended with gray and beige; and linen was paired with lace.

Lepore was inspired by Picasso for the collection presented Monday as part of New York Fashion Week.

She used a lot of all-over prints, especially on wispy below-the-knee dresses, including an adorable strapless collage-floral sarong and flounce dress. Shorter dresses that seemed like mini-kaftans were called “swimdresses.”

Pants were short, too, with exaggerated wide legs but otherwise tailored and ready to go to work. She paired them with a series of one-shoulder tops or a jacket with a bow.

Lepore couldn’t decide if one swirl-print number was pants or a dress, so she called it “pants-dress,” but from the audience’s perspective it looked like the increasingly ubiquitous jumpsuit.

Like many of her peers, Lepore outfits models in shoes that she also designs. She has a higher-end signature shoe label but she does kicks for Keds, too, and there was one shoe from that collection — a canvas wedge with an ankle strap — that might give espadrilles a run for their money next year.

Marc Jacobs
Marc Jacobs is considered the bellwether designer of American fashion. So, what’s the outlook for next spring?

Um, a lot of lingerie?

Jacobs presented his spring collection late Monday night to a packed crowd that had been waiting in the Lexington Avenue Armory for two hours. (Celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Sheryl Crow didn’t wait quite as long — they seemed to know to show up “fashionably late.”)

But it looked like he could have used a little more time. Models were wearing what Jacobs called “scrap tops” and “one-half gowns” — clothes that one presumes were left unfinished to make an ironic statement — thus, giving the audience plenty of glimpses of their silk, satin and crepe bras, slips and tap pants.

On their own, individual elements of the outfits, such as a black lace cape or a moire sleeveless trench coat, were very attractive, but wearable clothes wasn’t the point here. Surely some of the stylists, retailers, editors and fashion fans went home shaking their heads. Jacobs, however, definitely had a plan.

The entire show was staged backward, beginning with his bow, then the finale and then running through the looks, starting with No. 56 and ending with No. 1, a denim cape and sequined gown. Some of the shoes had had heels built sideways into the uppers, while others skimmed so low on the heel they looked too small for the models even though they actually fit just fine.

It was almost surprising that Jacobs did indeed turn out clothes appropriate for warmer weather instead of parkas and cozy sweaters.

Even with all this “message,” the collection largely fit into some of the more important trends emerging from New York Fashion Week: color-blocking, sheer overlays, sequins, and nude and natural colors with bright pops from purple, pink and orange.

It’s probably safe to say, though, that the only place dresses decorated with Silly String would be on the runway was this show.

Anna Sui
There’s been a lot of talk about happy, sunny clothes at New York Fashion Week as spring collections are previewed on the runway. But, until the Anna Sui show Monday night, there hadn’t been many signs of happy, sunny models.

Apparently all it takes to make the catwalkers come to life are colorful wigs, playful clothes and a soundtrack that includes the old Andrews Sisters hit “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

The first look on the runway was a bolero with black sequins, a multicolored diamond-print blouse and plaid shorts. Is someone likely to wear it to work next season? Probably not, but it sure looks good on the runway.

Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter, Riley Keough, were among those cheering from the front row.

For those who are indeed looking for Sui to provide real-world wardrobe solutions, she offered a plaid jacket-and-jumpsuit set — worn with a colorful print blouse underneath — as well as a white-and-black, Art Deco-themed dress. For parties, and deep down Sui is a party girl, there were several pairs of flutter shorts with tiers of ruffles on the behind and a shirtdress with a plaid pattern featured on a sheer fabric.

A black-and-white striped sateen coat worn with a bow blouse and white linen shorts had a 1970s vibe, as well as many of the scarf-and shirtdresses done in prints with bold colors.

But the era of the ’30s and ’40s was apparent, too, in the Art Deco architecture influences as well as all the satin, silver, fabric flowers and the parasol that one happy young lady carried down the runway.

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