Market Consciousness, Power Play

With frequent announcements of corporations and private equity firms acquiring large stakes in fashion companies, high-profile designer collaborations with mass retailers, and clear-cut business plans to penetrate emerging luxury markets like Russia, China, and India, designers are becoming more market-conscious than ever. And during the s/s '08 collections in New York, where optimum retail performance is the measure of success, designers placed a strong emphasis (too strong for some) on building those all-important retail profiles. Thankfully, there was still room for a new direction in sexy power-dressing.

The influx of foreign design talent showing in New York has grown with each season. Brazil's Alexandre Herchcovitch, who in the past drew inspiration from his home country's culture and Japanese deconstruction, opted for a rather wearable collection inspired by the tuxedo, and London's Preen tempered its flair for deconstruction, producing sexy, sheer, chiffon-and-satin cocktail frocks. Julia Jentzsch, formerly half of Naum with Waleed Khairzada (who is now creative director at Cynthia Steffe), produced black, languid georgette dresses that drape listlessly on the body with spare embellishments redolent of the Bauhaus. While Naoki Takazawa (the former head designer at Issey Miyake) mined a Japanese avant-garde vein, he was on trend with numerous artfully rendered chiffon-and-plastic-looking dresses.

Scandinavia's entries this season had competing aesthetics: the Danish Camilla Staerk's brand of minimalism contrasted with the Norwegian Elise Overland's energetic cropped jackets, tulip-shaped skirts, and printed dresses. Australia also had two reasons to be proud: Josh Goot's colorful and reliable separates rode the early '90s wave, while Toni Maticevski, whose column gowns of torn chiffon were well-executed, infused couture techniques like intricate pleating into many of his slouchy, ready-to-wear pieces. And New Zealand's Karen Walker produced nostalgic floral and confetti below-the-knee dresses, breezy separates including lightweight, cotton jersey jackets, flirty skirts, and slouchy cotton trousers; coupled with her cool sunglasses line, they show that Walker is clearly on a brand-building tear.

Vera Wang has been spreading her erudite aesthetic through an affordable collection at Kohl's and a mattress line with Serta, but her signature collection was a romantic experiment in rich fabrics. A pleated transparent-grey chiffon dress was modernized by underlying white cotton, and an oversized sweater was paired with a decidedly uptown hemmed chiffon skirt that would certainly please her prim Park Avenue ladies. Oscar de la Renta's satin jackets with full shoulders followed suit, as did luxe-cream skirt and pant suits from Peter Som. Young newcomer Kathy Tsina introduced Avion Feminin, whose well-executed day-to-evening cocktail dresses with art-deco seaming and pick stitching belie her novice status.

Some designers stuck to their best-known tricks while subtly expanding their style arsenals. Derek Lam's take on American sportswear in the '70s — swingy, printed-silk dresses, pale-hued, metallic wrap dresses, and leopard-printed blouses with bell sleeves — was winning, while Thakoon continued to perfect his signature slouchy-chic silhouettes, energizing separates of easy dresses, full shorts, and boxy tops with vibrantly hued floral and blue-batik prints. Maria Cornejo relied on bright colors, geometric and vaguely tribal prints, and Swarovski crystals to enliven her usually sober dresses.

Despite 3.1 Phillip Lim's legions of followers, and with a great deal of separates and delightful frocks this season, he seemed more concerned with meeting the strong retail demand for his products than with staging a well-edited presentation.

Threeasfour's delicate off-the-shoulder mini-dresses in sand, off-white, and pale blue earned its CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund nomination, and Angel Chang knew that tech-chic fabrics aren't for every woman, so she used them sparingly — notably in a tiered dress that changed colors, revealing a RED MAPS print of Manhattan when touched. Rodarte tempered a sometimes outlandish couture sensibility and paraded separates — namely low-slung trousers, pleated A-line skirts, tailored sports jackets, cobweb cardigans, and kicky metallic dresses — that a chic magpie would love. Narciso Rodriguez also loosened up, literally. Leaving the body-hugging behind and retaining strict architectural lines in necklines only, Rodriguez's blouses had fuller sleeves, black ankle-length trousers were more forgiving, and cotton minidresses had looser torsos and full, pleated skirts.

Always the feather-ruffler, Marc Jacobs' show was a record two hours late and presented a fantastic but kooky collection that traversed several decades and bemused many. The models' unkempt hair made them appear to be girls caught playing dress-up in a fabulous grandmother's closet. Still, underneath the disheveled layers, the collection hit many seasonal trends — underwear as outerwear, different-textured separates, menswear-inspired tailoring, sheer fabrics, and inventive prints — which suggested a new way of sexy power dressing far removed from the sweet femininity that's dominated for a few seasons now.

Former Marc Jacobs employee Richard Chai proposed grey knit sweaters (unusually prevalent this season) executed with a subdued, minimal aesthetic. Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa, who has been accused of veering away from the house's design DNA in seasons past, ironically presented a collection that was all too Calvin, with elegant evening gowns, slouchy coats, sleek pants, and precisely tailored jackets. Noir's jackets were slouchy and had a bedroomy feel, while Doo.Ri's delicate, transparent blouses had the same effect. At Proenza Schouler, where the waists were belted high and the skirts full and short, the boys opened with menswear-inspired pieces — khaki vests, a skirt suit, and a straightforward, knee-length dress — which segued into an experiment in graphic colors and shiny textures on close-to-the-body cocktail dresses. Fresh off their Uniqlo collaboration, Lutz and Patmos (of cashmere knit fame) commissioned architect Richard Meier as their guest designer, who conjured sweaters, dresses, and boleros that were appropriately angular. And finally, in only their second season, Alexa Adams and Flora Gill of Ohne Titel produced pleated, brightly color-blocked knits in A-line skirts, swingy dresses, and wrap tops that were the freshest of the season.

-Robert Cordero

Photos:
Alexandre Herchcovitch s/s '08
Ralph Lauren s/s '08
Derek Lam s/s '08
Thakoon s/s '08