Fashion Week Day 5
From Marc Jacobs to Zac Posen, metallic mini-dresses, shocks of color, and vampy lace dazzled on runways. VIEW OUR GALLERY of the best of Monday’s styles.
New York Fashion Week is racing along. Sunday introduced a pack of furs, and Monday brought an injection of vibrant color. Ruby jackets, teal coats—even neon mittens found their way on to runways, breaking the monotony of a sluggish winter with candy-colored dreams of fall.
Click the Image to View Our Gallery of the Best of Fashion Week: Day 5
Chris Benz introduced a string of brights at his show: an orange one-shouldered mini-dress, a sparkling red bolero, a furry pair of neon gloves and hat that looked like Davy Crockett had stuck his finger in a light socket.
More Fashion Week Coverage from The Daily Beast • Days 1-3• Day 4• Day 6• Day 7• Day 8Tones were more muted at Monique Lhuillier, where dark plums and navies were paraded around the runway. Celebrations of color came in the form of a mini-dress with sparkling green paillettes, and a poppy-colored floor-length gown with asymmetrical straps and a brooch that looked like the center of a blooming flower.
Amid the color, there was also room for a little vamp at Zac Posen, Devi Kroell, and Tracy Reese. Posen, the man of ruffles and textures, proved that va-va-voom can enter the equation—and comfortably, too. Mesh vamped up colorful strapless dresses. At Tracy Reese, thick zippers and bustier tops lent the collection a rocker edge but still looked gentle against the thick drapes of sweaters and knit scarves. Reese even threw thick lace into her collection, which lent a Flashdance vibe to a pink tutu dress.
Carolina Herrera made the case for a Katharine Hepburn-like pant, which she featured both pinstriped and with a variety of manly prints. And—because, why not?—she combined two trends by topping color-blocked jackets with a capelet of plush fur. Far more dazzling were her offerings for cocktail hour, which ranged from a silver strapless mini-dress, the fabric of which met at the front like waves slapping together at sea. For evening, Herrera presented a signature assortment of regal gowns, each with a modern feel: a shimmering deep gold dress tied together by a single, windswept bow, and a diaphanous gray gown whose origami folds parted to reveal a subtle metallic underlay.
At Donna Karan, color was an indulgence in a largely black collection—one bright purple dress and coat, another teal mini-dress—but the dominant feature was over-the-top shape, which came in the form of massively exaggerated ruffle-shoulders on a bolero, a tall peak to a one-shouldered gown, and a structural jacket sculpted to reveal seductively round hips.
Donna Karan's collection caused a frenzy—not only because of the clothes, but also because of who was seated in the front row. A crush of paparazzi surrounded Demi Moore when she entered the room and sandwiched herself between Susan Sarandon and Brooke Shields. "Donna's always looked to take fabrics, and, in a way, be liberating and embracing of our lifestyles as independent women out in the world transitioning from casual to evening," Moore told WWD.
"Damn!," Joe Zee, Elle magazine's creative director tweeted when he saw Susan Sarandon. "Single looks good!"
At Marc Jacobs' show on Monday night—which featured florals, metallic prints, and fur-lined jackets—celebrities did not line the front row. Editors Carine Roitfeld and Anna Wintour were in their seats about a half an hour before the show was scheduled to begin, and indeed it started at exactly 8 p.m., right on time.
Isabel Wilkinson is an assistant editor at The Daily Beast.
