Sun Dress | yohana
backstage after his show, Carlos Miele shared his vision of paradise, one in which there is "a perpetual sun" (insert global-warming joke here). As it turned out, Miele's utopia was plenty wet, too. A strong aquatic element was present from day to night: One of the caftans that opened the show—it was draped over a sleek white one-piece swimsuit—was printed with giant koi fish. On the finale gown, the fan detailing on the bodice made the model look as if she were emerging from a clamshell, Botticelli-style. Colors were vivid, fabrics slinky. One top looked like a deflated disco ball, almost ready to take a spin. Quieter pieces were scattered throughout, such as a long draped skirt that swooped up the center to reveal a flash of leg. For those who like it hot, there will be plenty here to choose from
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Moody name notwithstanding, Brood's Spring collection is ephemerally light. Designer Serkan Sarier, an alumnus of Giambattista Valli, Carolina Herrera, and the couture atelier of Emanuel Ungaro, refined his sportif take on couture for his third season. The label is still young, but Sarier has stuck to his guns, developing the ideas he established with his debut collection.
Andrea Lieberman flew into New York on a red eye this morning for a few whistle-stop Spring previews, then was off to Paris by 3 p.m. for a fabric trade show—economy class, no less, the better to save up funds to spend on her line. Lieberman herself is quite down-to-earth, but her designs for A.L.C., while still straightforward, are racheting up the flash. A sharp, collarless mint green blazer paired with a crisp button-up and second-skin leather pintuck trousers balances effortless polish with a touch of grit. And an easy shirtdress in "safety orange" washed silk was long and unbuttoned up to the waist with an attached mid-thigh slip, for a flash of leg that was just right. Lieberman is all about those little tweaks that elevate a classic (or not-so-classic) staple. Case in point, the cutout racer-back on a stretchy "baseball jersey" dress or the built-in bras on several crepe jumpsuits, which outnumbered gowns by far in the eveningwear category. Jumpsuit formal has been on the rise of late, and Lieberman succinctly summed up the suits' appeal: "They have the ease of throwing on a dress, which a lot of girls—including myself—don't feel like wearing."
There was something decidedly less precious about Alexis Mabille's girl this season. For one thing, with daisies stuck in each model's hair, she looked like she'd taken a literal roll in the hay before sauntering down the runway; and then there were those slinky, Marant-ish dangly silver earrings giving Mabille's cute some swagger-y cool.
As a still up-and-coming French designer struggling to build her ready-to-wear business, Anne Valérie Hash is unpretentious enough to know she hasn't the wherewithal to be a Paris couturier. "I can't do couture like Chanel or Dior. Of course not. But I do want to experiment in a different way," she said. "I had this idea to do something about personal clothing, memory, and identity, so I started writing to people I admire and asking them to send me something of theirs to transform." Her first letter went to Alber Elbaz, who, with instant generosity, sent a pair of his pajamas, and once he'd agreed, it snowballed. She ended up with Tilda Swinton's Vivienne Westwood tee, Jean Paul Gaultier's Breton shirt, Pete Doherty's frogged drummer-boy jacket, a veil from Diane Pernet, a Chanel jacket from Daphne Guinness, and a spencer belonging to Charlotte Rampling.
Araks Yeramyan didn't know a thing about this week's U.S. Open (Novak who?), but she loves tennis uniforms, and used them as a reference point for her Spring collection. A racket-grid print came on a sheer pantsuit, and a two-tone semi-drop-waist dress with a low back looked like tennis gear from the fifties. Sheer fabrics are always a go-to for Araks, as they highlight her signature feminine lingerie. A stacked-pleat chiffon dress was see-through on one side—"only halfway scandalous," the designer said. Araks also showed a few electric pink fils coupe looks, like an oversize button-down and folded skirt with flaplike slits that aced the ongoing neon trend.
This womenswear retailer has always catered to a youthful customer—one who likes her party dresses tight, bright, and low-cut—so it was an intriguing choice that Bebe brought in Charles Benton as a design consultant. Benton's background is in luxury, having cut his teeth at Emanuel Ungaro during the Giambattista Valli days, but rather than being asked to tailor his looks to the typical Bebe customer, he was given free rein. "I was surprised myself how much freedom I had," the Rome native admitted backstage. 
The Internet generation loves a mash-up, and Kate and Laura Mulleavy gave them a doozy for Spring. With Tavi Gevinson, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Saoirse Ronan, Rooney Mara, and Taylor Swift looking on from the front row, the sisters sent out a collection that was one part Sleeping Beauty and another part Vincent van Gogh. They explained that they fell for the greens and purples of the 1959 animated Disney classic, and asked themselves who else uses colors like that. They found their answer in the Dutch postimpressionist painter beloved by millions. It's not their usual esoteric reference point, and it was all the more unexpected for the fact that gift stores do such a bang-up business in Starry Night mouse pads.
You didn't need to know that Kate and Laura Mulleavy had been watching the Terrence Malick movie Days of Heaven to ascertain that the sisters had taken the American Plains as their latest inspiration. The clues weren't exactly hard to follow on today's runway: silk gowns printed with a wheat field at the hem, ankle-grazing prairie coats, leather and ponyskin separates with geometric insets that called to mind quilts. The only items that might have thrown you off the scent were the pair of ruby red party dresses at the end. But as Kate explained afterward, "We couldn't go to Nebraska and Kansas and not do a Wizard of Oz reference." 
Now in his fourth season showing on the runway, Adam Lippes is clear on his "mythical muse," as he puts it: the gyp-setting girl who's equally at home in New York City, Paris, or a tiny hut on the Indian Ocean. For Spring '10 she traveled to Lamu, Kenya (where the designer vacations). Lippes trimmed a miniskirt in raffia and wood beads and worked a mud-cloth embroidery pattern on a laid-back organza tank dress. At the heart of the collection, though, were his city-girl staples: draped twill shorts, sporty rompers, and slouchy tees, all in bright, saturated hues. Clothes women will wear, to be sure—but, unfortunately, modern basics don't make for the most exciting runway show. Lippes might want to flex his creative muscles a bit more with his next effort.
There was a flash of cameras in the front row at Chado. When the scrum parted, it wasn't Leighton Meester or some other Gossip Girl the photographers had been shooting, but Martha Stewart. If Ralph Rucci attracts customers of a certain age, it's partly because the clothes he designs, with their intricate handwork—the sheer paneling, the braided insets—are so very costly. But maybe it's time for the celebrity stylists out there to take another look.
Ralph Rucci skipped a proper show this season in favor of one-on-one appointments. That meant there was no Martha Stewart or Whoopi Goldberg to gawk at, but there was something better: the opportunity to examine the couture-quality workmanship that is this designer's calling card. Rucci admitted that despite his wealth of blue-chip clients, the recession has been difficult for his business. For Spring, he's made adjustments, turning out more pieces in less precious fabrications, including an on-trend cotton jumpsuit and an easy cotton and suede sleeveless shift with blousonlike volume on top.
Travels and obscure movie references are frequent starting points for Vena Cava's Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, and their latest effort was no exception. A road trip to Death Valley and the (OK, maybe not quite so obscure, at least in fashion circles) 1970 flick Zabriskie Point influenced the dusty orange and yellow palette of their Resort collection, as well as the sweet Southwestern-style prints. An overall-style silk jumpsuit was a standout, as was a seventies-workwear-inspired chambray vest.
t's still early, but we're willing to bet that "classic American sportswear" will be a phrase you'll be hearing almost as often as "How do I get to Lincoln Center?" during this New York fashion week. Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock used it backstage before their show, professing a newfound interest in "practical, matter-of-fact, not too over-styled clothes." That puts their collection of linen shorts suits, ankle-skimming shirtdresses, and "stay-press" flaring trousers squarely at the center of things. These designers have always preferred elegance to edge, but this season, the results looked more effortless, without the superfluous extras that have proven a bit too distracting in the past.
Once upon a time, in the Edenic innocence of the pre-digital age, little girls dreamed of being beautiful princesses. Alberta Ferretti got back to the garden with her new collection of floating floral chiffons. It was a departure from the luxe lady look she's been offering for the past few seasons, but "women want to change," Ferretti insisted backstage. "Fantasy is so important."
It might have been sheer coincidence that the most memorable image of Alberta Ferretti's show today was the pattern that ran down the front of a shift dress and a tunic top. It looked like a crack in the sidewalk. Maybe that was her way of telegraphing the schizoid nature of her new collection. The first part of the show was a roundup of (relatively) practical daywear, the second featured ethereal, floaty, classic Ferretti dresses. The designer is convinced that women have passed beyond the ease of day-to-night dressing. They now want a definitive break point in their day between work and play. Hence, perhaps, the crack.
Designers tackling Resort often look to the more bombastic vacation getaways—Miami, Ibiza, Saint-Tropez—for their inspiration. Alberta Ferretti, in contrast, chose Deauville. The picturesque town in Normandy is well known (among fashion types, at least) as the getaway spot for Coco Chanel, and the name conjures visions of early-century chic. And there was a sweet, somewhat vintage flavor to a few of Ferretti's looks in this collection, though the designer managed to throw in some eminently salable aughties garb, as well as some of her trademark flowing, glamour girl dresses. There was a retro appeal in silk pieces printed with painterly, picture postcard-style illustrations, and color-banded flared skirts and frocks. Scarf-print wide-leg silk trousers should offer another option to the girls chasing the season's pajama-dressing trend (not to mention gelling with the foulard chic surfacing at, of all places, the Spring '12 menswear shows).
Designers used hummingbirds, swans, and pheasants in their bold creations this season—from abstract, graceful lines to three-dimensional birds perched on the chest and shoulders.\
PARIS—“More just a retailer, brands can also be a community,” said Ulrika Lundgren, founder of the Swedish-born but Paris-based label Rika. The statement is certainly true for her brand. Rika’s turned into one of Paris’ best kept secrets, attracting die-hard fans like Carine Roitfeld, Scarlett Johansson, Alexa Chung. 
Tokyo is arguably the capital of trends, and with good reason: If platform Converse sneakers or cotton candy pink crinoline skirts can’t make it here, they can’t make it anywhere. (For the record, they are practically a constant on the back streets of Harajuku right now.) Of course, it’s not just over-the-top street style that sets the pace for local fashion—and when something catches on, it catches on en masse. Which is why the major spring ’12 trends of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo are of note. After all, today’s only-in-Japan knotted dresses may be tomorrow’s Marc Jacobs fall ’12 collection.
After the big hair that dominated most of the ’80s deflated, it was time to go straight. With the introduction of mass-market flatirons, women could achieve sleek strands at home in minutes, and the launch of John Frieda’s Frizz-Ease serum in 1992 ensured humidity-defying silkiness and shine. “We knew it would be big when we developed it,” Frieda says. “But the response was overwhelming. You’d have thought I’d invented penicillin.”
The modern iteration of the smoky eye is all about a flash of notice-me color. While smudgy black shadow has long been the never-fail shorthand for sultry, nighttime looks, the development of ultrablendable, vibrant pigments has made it easy to experiment with bright, unexpected hues. “With a jewel-tone eye, makeup is jewelry for the face,” says Francelle, who bedazzled model Pamela Bernier’s lids with Nars Night Porter and Star Sailor shadows.
Chromed finishes may have been over the top and hard-edged in the ’80s, but the advent of microfine shimmer has made the look softer and more universally flattering. “Metallics work on everyone, regardless of age, eye shape, or color,” Francelle says. “It’s a hint of life on the lid.” To keep the shine modern—not robotic—limit reflective shades to eyes and highlighted cheekbones, as Francelle did on model Chrishell Stubbs. “It should look simple and effortless.”
Between the lipstick-crazy ’80s and the lip-gloss-loving 2000s, stained lips rocked the ’90s as a sheer, pretty complement to the prevailing less-is-more natural look. Today’s stains are nondrying and long-lasting, won’t transfer to your teeth, and can tint lips from a barely there pink to a vampy deep plum. “You want no shine,” says Nars national makeup artist Francelle, who used a matte lipstick on model Hyoni Kang. “Color should look stained into the lip, not applied on top.”
When Yves Saint Laurent said, “Fashions fade; style is eternal,” he might not have been talking about beachy waves, but the sentiment holds. Long, windswept strands, which gained steam in the ’90s, are now ubiquitous, from the office to the runway. “Beachy hair should carry over from day to night, so it can’t be such a mess that you can’t wear it to a cocktail party,” says hairstylist Ashley Javier. “Aim for a rougher, edgier version of Veronica Lake curls.”
Whether sapphire, garnet or a Christmas-ready ruby or emerald, it doesn't get much more festive than these rich hues. Take a tip from Michelle Monaghan and Pippa Middleton: you don't need much accessorizing when your dress teams bold colors with detailed embellishments.
