New Age Clothes
- Antonio Berardi - The Antonio Berardi woman is usually a femme fatale, fitted or zipped into the kind of dress that promises to turn every girl into an Italian bombshell—or Christina Hendricks. For his pre-collection, the designer also offered some knitted tank dresses that raised the body-con thermostat. But he expanded his periphery to include experiments with new volumes, especially a pleated bubble (though it still came attached to a fitted tank top) and skirts with a slight flare. There was a slight clunk to the bubble, which also came through in a jacket sleeve set under a shoulder pad, or a jacket body that was folded into itself (although that could be considered a topical Inception-like effect).
More pleasing was the virginal Catholicism of a dress that was composed from layers of white handkerchief cotton and lace with lace hankies sewn on top. It illuminated a hard/soft dichotomy in the collection, as in a shirt/jacket hybrid where the top half of the piece was sheer lace and chiffon and the bottom half was a solid crepe peplum. Same thing with the colors—the rigor of black and white, the flyaway ice-creaminess of fuchsia, mango, peppermint. The overall feel was that Berardi was toying with contrasting ideas that he will resolve more fully in his Spring collection. In the meantime, a spirit of perverse whimsy dictated that his yellow chiffon caftan summoned from the graveyard of camp the specter of Elizabeth Taylor in Boom!
—Tim Blanks - Milly - Milly's Michelle Smith was thinking of a honeymoon in Venice for Resort: the watercolor Venetian skyline print that anchors the collection (twist her arm and she'll reveal it's actually Florence); the warm, fresco yellows; the full-skirted silhouettes. Truth be told, she'd been waiting for the romantic mood to come back around. "The whole heavy-metal trend wasn't my favorite," she said.
Milly is a thriving business, and the breadth of the collection is made for devoted customers buying deeply. It didn't vary all that much from a tried-and-true collection of staple shapes (the shift dress, the classic coat, the naval skirt), but why should it? Smith's customers aren't chasing fast-moving trends. They're sold on her fine fabrics (many archival and European, sourced from her years working for Hermès and Vuitton overseas) and kitschy-cute details, like oversized buttons, as well as her expanding costume-jewelry range.
—Matthew Schneier - Christopher Kane - "I like to be as focused as possible," says Christopher Kane, which is why his collections always have such a strong, clear quality. Resort was no exception. Following on from last Spring's bomb motifs, he opted for flaring nebulae, as seen by the Hubble telescope. He explained that he liked "the idea of explosive outwards expansion" (a nice metaphor for what's happening with his business), but all that cosmic hyperactivity also yielded some great prints (translating beautifully into silk cashmere knitwear, too), with plenty of the interplay between light and darkness that's a Kane signature.
Nothing showcased that kind of contrast better than a biker jacket in chiffon with a frilled skirt attached. Kane offered the same piece in black leather, an accent carried over from Fall in high-waisted shorts, a bustier, or the bodice attached to an organza gazar skirt. Gazar also featured in a long princess skirt, gathered at the waist so it flared out. Mid-thigh, it zipped in half to become a skating skirt. Same with the halter-necked version, which Kane called a "housewife dress," though it was anything but suburban in its fiery print of cosmic catastrophe—a desperate-housewife dress, perhaps?
Those full, flaring lengths and the palazzo volume of the pants were experiments with new silhouettes for Kane, perhaps not entirely successful in comparison to the Barbarella-sleek line of his baby dolls and drop-waisted T-shirt dresses, where his focus was steely. By the way, Kane named his shoes for Barbarella—maribou-trimmed Zanotti platforms, ironic bordering on camp, and a joy to behold.
—Tim Blanks - United Bamboo - There's been a note of boyishness in the United Bamboo collection lately. Last fall, Miho Aoki and Thuy Pham sent suiting separates down the runway, and now, for Resort, they're vacationing, as it were, in classic Oxbridge, with a range that takes England's Henley Royal Regatta as its theme. It doesn't get more proper than the century-plus-old boat race on the Thames, but no fear that UB is getting stuffy. Look closely at a floral calico, and you'll spot a tiny Pac-Man-style ghost. A larger flower array suggested a hothouse gone to seed. Feminine and masculine played off one another in the proportions of nipped-in mini blazers cut close to the figure and formfitting trousers. (Intriguingly, Pham promises a sexier show to go along with this closer crop for Spring.) The Japanese-made knits, introduced last season and expanded here, were a standout—just the sort of open-weave sweaters a lad would want for a chilly English day on the river.
—Matthew Schneier - Julien Macdonald - Julien Macdonald was quick to point out that his 35-piece collection wasn't resort or cruise; it was a "Christmas flash," which gave it a certain climactic specificity. Baby, it's getting colder outside, so Macdonald made knitwear to throw over his party frocks. For skin not yet kissed by holiday sun, he kept his colors on the dark and—it must be said—dreary side, with dusty, washed-out jewel tones. Even the white of a classically draped cocktail dress had an aged chalkiness. Macdonald lives on Portobello Road, and his vintage finds from the market there had a big influence on pieces that at times had a thirties languor, a twenties flapper quality, and something even earlier, with tattered lace and faded ruffles that could have come from Miss Havisham's closet.
The aggressive sexiness that characterized the designer's work in the past was absent, though his emphasis on bias cutting made even the most prosaic-looking piece snake sinuously around the body. Where Macdonald's Christmas really flashed was in his knitwear. Again, all of it had a worn, deliberately snagged look, but there was a slouchy appeal to the sweater dresses. One was essentially a man's polo-neck jumper with corset-laced shoulders; another a cardigan, also corset-laced. Too gothic for seasonal cheer, but sly and sexy just the same.
—Tim Blanks
- New ANTHROPOLOGIE Sunwashed Dots Shirtdress -
US $65.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:31:52 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - Ella Moss Anthropologie Red Cap Sleeve Top XS -
US $7.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:38:27 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - Anthropologie Chemise by Tiny NWT $88 Sz L -
US $31.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:38:34 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - New Anna Sui for Anthropologie "Wilcox" Dress size 8 -
US $99.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:42:45 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $119.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list - MOTH SWEATER CARDIGAN~~L LARGE~~ANTHROPOLOGIE -
US $24.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:48:58 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - NWT Anthropologie Sanctuary Taupe/Beige Jacket/Blazer -
US $59.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:49:24 PDT
Buy It Now for only: US $69.99
Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list - ANTHROPOLOGIE PINS AND NEEDLES EDWARDIAN JACKET (S) -
US $39.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:50:16 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - SWEET PEA by ANTHROPOLOGIE STRETCHY MESH top NEW S -
US $9.95 (0 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:50:31 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - ANTHROPOLOGIE BLACK/WHITE POLKA DOT SLEVELESS DRESS LG -
US $16.50 (13 Bids)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:50:51 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list - SWEET PEA by ANTHROPOLOGIE gray STRETCHY MESH top NEW S -
US $9.95 (1 Bid)
End Date: Friday Sep-03-2010 16:54:55 PDT
Bid now | Add to watch list
