Designers show versatility in styles at Fashion Week

 

By Kim Crow
NEW YORK -- As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week continues here in New York, there is one truly dominant trend emerging.
Some designers are starting to get it.
Those who do will be the ones who successfully negotiate the fundamental shifts in the marketplace brought on by the recession.
Those who don't will find themselves in the unemployment line, like so many of the customers they didn't listen to.
"If designers aren't putting recession-proof clothing on the runway, they won't survive, it's as simple as that," says David Wolfe, creative director for the trend-forecasting Doneger Group. "Those who continue to make stupid clothes that don't sell, just for the press to write about, don't seem to realize how much the economic landscape has altered."
While a certain percentage of the population can continue to buy new garments without weighing their merits against their price tags, their numbers are dwindling.
There's a new recognition of value being shown here at Lincoln Center and venues across Lower Manhattan this week. Not necessarily value in the sense that prices are lower -- indeed, with the recent surges in raw materials costs, prices will more likely rise -- but in the sense of cost per wear.
"People are really starting to consider a garment's CPW factor," says Wolfe. "They're looking for well-designed, thoughtful pieces that can be worn again and again. It'll mean far less gimmicky detailing, the gaudy embellishments that make a garment too memorable to wear more than once a month."
The "get it" designers are sending versatile looks down their runway -- reversible coats, knee-length skirts, sweet, go-with-anything tops -- that can be worn in a multitude of ways on a multitude of ages and body types.
This being Fashion Week, there were a few outlandish things on the runway -- Betsey Johnson's crazy hula-hoop dress, for one -- but savvier designers are waking up and acknowledging the uncertainty.
"You can't be a fashion designer without being aware of the circumstances your customers are in," said designer Yeohlee Teng backstage after her Monday show. (Her intelligent, upscale line is sold at D'Ora in Fairlawn.)
"That was reflected in my collection by all the separates we had. Our customer doesn't need to buy a whole new wardrobe; she can get just a blouse, a skirt, a coat from this collection, to jazz up what she already has in her closet."
Luckily for designers, women will always want something to jazz up their wardrobes. Here's a quick look at the trends with which they'll be tempting us for spring 2011.
Knee-length (or even below) skirts. Modest, ladylike hemlines abound. They could be A-line or a pencil skirt or something slinky, cut on the bias, but supershort minis of recent seasons were few and far between (keep the cheering down to a dull roar, ladies). The most interesting shapes were those that offered volume without bulk, all the better for those who have bottomed out -- quite literally! While cut, draping and fabric selection were emphasized over embellishment, there were several intricately beaded skirts meant for evening, pieces that can be worn with different tops and lightweight knits, rather than the showstopping cocktail dresses of seasons past. There were many standout skirts on the runway, but among the ladylike best were those from Jill Stuart, Rachel Comey, Jason Wu and Derek Lam.
The "carrot" pant. This IS Fashion Week, darlings. There has to be ONE silhouette that's challenging for regular gals to pull off. These slim-cut pants, most often pleated at the waistband, sit at the hip and taper to end just above the ankle. They offer the slim lines of a legging with the ease of a trouser. Nearly every design team offered at least one version of the look, including both DKNY and Diane von Furstenberg, a feminized take on the borrowed-from-the-boys vibe that continues to march on in the fashion world.
Noncolor colors. The collections are rife with shades of blush pink, warm bisque, sandy taupe and soft whites, as soft and delicate as the inside of a seashell. The effect is lip-smackingly feminine without the cutesy frills and girlish silhouettes that are so often offered to mature women. Both Alexander Wang and BCBG limited themselves to shades of white, bisques and pale grays, using flashes of color only sparingly as a design element. And Donna Karan did them one better by devoting her entire, hauntingly beautiful collection to the color of sand.
Prints mash-up. On the flip side of all the light hues on the runway are a playful mash-up of prints. Solid colors seem limited to a single item in an ensemble, while prints and patterns layer together to offer a happiness factor. Newcomer Suno offered plenty of smiles at its weekend presentation -- the fair-trade line is designed in New York but produced in Kenya -- as did Peter Som and von Furstenberg. After all, woman cannot survive on tasteful taupe alone.
Transparency. "Now that's really sheer," remarked one buyer dryly, as a model wafted by his chair at the Thakoon show, her lithe body "covered" in only a dress of printed silk chiffon. Some designers took the sense of lightness that permeates these collections a wee bit too far, as at Thakoon, while others were content to be a bit more peekaboo, offering strategically designed sheer insets more guaranteed to keep your modesty intact. Richard Chai used sheer fabrics in layering pieces, putting a long-sleeve illusion blouse over tank tops and sheer, loose-fit leggings under simple skirts. "Those layers offer more options to the customer," he said backstage after his show. "She can wear them over different things or under different things . . . or even on their own with the right attitude!"