Speaking Style

The designs of two-time CFDA best designer Narciso Rodriguez went down the same structured path that Prada clothing did for Fall 2008. But whereas Miuccia Prada combined the Granny look with glamour, Rodriguez fused structure with sex appeal. There were clean lines and classic shapes, yes, but there were little touches that made each look more modern than they would appear at first.

Opening the collection was a structured four-pocket jacket with exaggerated arms and upturned collar, paired with a very sheer tiered black accordion-pleat skirt. It’s this contrast of uncompromising, masculine tailoring against softer, more feminine garments that defines Rodriguez’s collection. At first, it comes through simply with the pairings. The clean-cut dresses and office-appropriate outfits worked really well with the leggings that the designer decided to use. Every now and then, there’d be some new texture in a different fabric or a flash of extra skin in a low neckline to make for a little surprise.

It was the little cocktail dresses that are really very noteworthy for this collection. Rodriguez gave his own twist to the coat dress – a big fashion trend this season – in four different colors, deviating from the earlier monochromatic theme. A little black number with a peek-a-boo crisscross top had a skirt made allegedly of singed peacock feathers – perhaps Rodriguez’s reworking of the fringed celebrity fashion statement. A relatively plain black number suddenly revealed a breathtaking crisscross pattern of straps at the back. If Rodriguez wanted to show how femininity could be found in all places (and outfits), then this collection is a spectacular success.

Not to be forgotten are the shoes, which are in the same league as Prada and Miu Miu shoes of the season. Like Miuccia, Rodriguez’s interesting shoe choices (like one in a Mary Jane style with an additional cuff, or several versions of knee-high patent boots) helped put together the unusual yet feminine looks that he was apparently after

If you’re fairly new to designer fashion shows, you might think you were looking at a couture collection when all you were really looking at was the ready-to-wear collection of Christian Lacroix. The man has been giving the term ‘fashion forward’ an all-new meaning ever since he started sending pretty things down the runway in 1987. He might not have churned out the next fashion trends for Fall 2008, but he definitely didn’t disappoint.

Volume and juxtaposition were two things that the designer executed excellently in this collection. A plain, body-conscious asymmetric little black dress suddenly explodes into asymmetric ruffles at the skirt, which is made of a patterned fabric in a different shade of black. A very sculptural and structured beaded jacket went on top of a hippie fringe skirt in the same sober black fabric. If chic was the new celebrity fashion statement, the designs of Lacroix would be all over Hollywood.

Of course, no Lacroix collection would be complete without a few pieces that step outside the typical and into the couture side of things. Another little black dress was topped off with a dramatic long-fringe hood. There was a neon green cocktail dress that was disorder all over and dominated on the left shoulder by a huge bow. It’s not the kind of thing you’d find people wearing to the mall or even to a nice dinner out, but it’s undeniably the signature of Lacroix. If you’re looking for haute couture designs but don’t want to be too avant-garde, Lacroix’s RTW collection is the middle ground you seek.

The fashion label established by the late Emilio Pucci is known for its wild prints and high-end clientele. But Marni alum Matthew Williamson, who took the creative reins in 2006, hasn’t always been able to capture that rich-kid glam feel. It’s usually a hit-or-miss situation, and Fall 2008 has fortunately been a hit.

It seems that Williamson understood that Pucci clientele don’t do something as plebian as stay in the city all summer. For the truly rich, the fall and winter seasons involve a stint of skiing in the Swiss Alps, a retreat in a mountain chateau and other such cold-weather gallivants.

The silhouettes were critical in achieving just the effect that the designer wanted. Body-hugging warm clothing like skinny ski pants and fur-lined parkas contributed to outfits that any heiress would want to wear while on the slopes. There were also long-sleeved sheath dresses and little black numbers for just lounging around inside the lounge or chateau. Every single piece looked comfortable and wearable, yet none of them lost that vibe of ski-loving luxury.

No Pucci collection would be complete without prints, and the Fall 2008 collection has just the right amount of it. It’s easy to overdo prints on clothes like these such that they’d look either juvenile or costume-y. The designer, fortunately, was able to stay true to Pucci’s passion for prints while preserving the filthy rich image. In fact, with the colorful jagged and geometric prints, a lot of the models looked like modern-day Ice Queens walking down the runway. It’s not something that Pucci probably intended himself, but the resulting images are certainly very Pucci-pretty.