"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
Big Spenders: Seventh on Sale Gala Attracts an A-list Crowd
Kitted out like the courtyard of a medieval castle, complete with fake torches, the 69th Regiment Armory was filled to bursting with deeply discounted designer merchandise and eager shoppers in the form of Valentino, Ralph Lauren, Giambattista Valli, Iman, Eve, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Comparison Shopping: We pit two much-hyped new style guides against a classic of the genre
With Victoria Beckham and Rachel Zoe's new style guides hitting the bookstores, we decided to test the authors' fashion sense against that of designer Anne Fogarty's 50-year-old gem, Wife Dressing.
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