A LOOK AHEAD

TOP 10 AMERICAN SPRING COLLECTIONS

Pretty Is as Pretty Does
After viewing more than 50 collections, I still felt energized and excited at the end of the week, a credit to the feminine, whimsical clothes designers sent down the runway. Exuberance was in the air and there were many comebacks—Daryl K is back and CD Green, who closed show week for me. There were new faces and pleasant surprises like Kenneth Cole’s light hand in a pleasing collection. But in the dog-eat-dog world of fashion, there are gonna be some top dawgs even in a season as strong as this one.


Marc Jacobs
Perry Ellis

Marc Jacobs:
Sure-handed mixes of vintage inspirations from the art deco period with Jacobs’s modern take on how a woman might dress today. Hip, confident and feminine. “I watched a lot of films [for inspiration],’’ said Jacobs, including Sofia Coppola’s new Lost in Translation.

Perry Ellis:
Patrick Robinson makes a wow comeback to the big time with this whimsical collection. Great pastel color combinations like khaki, lilac and sea-foam green. The fake flower (reminiscent of the art deco period) is destined to be an accessory of the season.


Chado by Ralph Rucci
Tracy Reese

Chado by Ralph Rucci:
If you were one to cry over clothes, this is where you’d do it (but I know you’re not). Crisp, faultless shirt dresses in a sophisticated Rorschach print, a vanilla sheath dress with sheer insets and matching lambskin stole.

Tracy Reese:
We crown her princess of the dress for her funky, sheer beaded dresses over slips, her demure sheath dresses and great pencil skirt and jacket combinations.


Proenza Schouler
Ralph Lauren

Proenza Schouler:
Reinventing the bodysuit with trapunto stitching and contrast piping is a great start. Then there are beautifully embellished Twenties-style dresses and city shorts that you could actually wear in the city. Designed by Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez.

Ralph Lauren:
From black and white (Lauren has always based his coveted lifestyle on the movies) in a great baseball jacket and matching peg skirt to Technicolor sportswear, Lauren has served up one of his best collections. It’s too late in the game to look for surprises from Lauren.


Narciso Rodriguez
Stephen Burrows

Narciso Rodriguez:
Chic, sexy, sheaths. Intellectual peplum blouses over cool pants. Chosen to inaugurate our special auction event with a designer, Rodriguez’s first on-line event ran from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2 and featured two hot-off-the-runway spring looks and a selection from his fall collection. (Hint: Keep checking eBay for more designer specials.)

Stephen Burrows:
The Burrows revival continues and this season Burrows brought in the diva deluxes to help show his beautifully colored, fluidly cut dresses the way they ought to be shown. Pat Cleveland, Alva Chinn, Aria and Karen Bjornson ruled the runway.


Michael & Hushi
Halston by Bradley Bayou

Michael & Hushi:
Remember Paris Is Burning? Pepper La Beija, the documentary’s main character, is the inspiration for this creative line. A passel of handiwork including appliqué on a dress, hand-painting and trompe l’oeil set this collection apart. Sold in a handful of boutiques, including discerning Ultimo in Chicago, it’s designed by Michael Sears and Hushi Motezai.

Halston by Bradley Bayou:
Socialite songwriter Denise Rich has already picked out the sequin-covered turquoise minidress (though she wants her version floor-length) but that won’t stop every celebrity and every other woman who has a black-tie event from considering Halston again. Bayou said he is refurbishing his atelier cum store in Los Angeles, where he dressed the likes of Oprah and Queen Latifah. It will reopen near the end of the year as a Halston boutique, he said.