TOSS that thong and prepare yourself for a daunting new look in lingerie.
Granny pants – yes, Bridget Jones-style high-waisted knickers – took center stage yesterday when Donna Karan previewed a collection of dresses sheer enough to expose the new movement in underwear.
In her strongest collection in years, Karan went back to her roots of creating clothes that women will love wearing and showed a slew of dresses – belted in the front, loose and flowing at the back – that will flatter every imaginable body type.
The dresses, and a selection of high-waisted tulip skirts, were constructed in light fabrics – like crepe, linen, gauze, silk and even suede – that floated, barely grazing the models’ bodies.
Karan pumped up the volume further with details including oversized sashes that wrapped the midsection and jacket sleeves that blossomed into full leg o’ muttons.
Karan’s palette made the stark white used by so many other designers look wimpy.
Teak brown, inky blue, indigo, golden yellow and red livened up a base of black, as did graffiti and abstract graphic prints.
Ralph Lauren, who also previewed his new collection yesterday – the final day of Fashion Week – failed to generate the same level of excitement.
We thought the collection Lauren described as being “inspired by cool, bohemian glamour and rustic joie de vivre” looked anything but.
Prairie skirts, gold-embroidered military tailcoats and blue and white broadcloth stripe dresses looked old.
And worse, deadly boring.
But the collection previewed by Texan designer Lela Rose oozed the kind of breezy, understated glamour we used to associate with Lauren.
Rose, who earned international name recognition when she dressed the Bush twins for their father’s first inaugural, has consistently become more sophisticated with each collection she unveils.
Yesterday, using quirky fabric combinations – like burlap-wrapped gobstopper-sized pearls that coated a bolero jacket and bleached lace that was jet printed onto the hem or neckline of linen dresses – she managed to straddle that very fine line between clothes that are both fun and feminine.
A flirty navy feather mini-dress and an ivory eyelet shirt dress were among the strong looks that came down Rose’s runway. A kimono backed peacock-blue gown and a black and white slashed chiffon polka-dot dress were total traffic-stoppers.
Additional Reporting by Lisa Marsh