Fluff's out, tough's in

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-20 13:45

The overall tone of the fall collection was more somber than Mark Badgley and James Mischka usually embrace, with lots of black and little beading. The finale dress, though, with all-over copper beading delicately covered by black tulle, fused subtlety and shine seamlessly.

The daytime dress that opened the show was barely identifiable as a Badgley Mischka. Still, the brand's socialite fans had some options. A heavily embellished gown might seem inappropriate now, so the designers stuck mostly with satin, draped this way or that to create a little newness.

Narciso Rodriguez's urban warrior theme carried through every look and he offered his take on the camouflage print, which was black and white, like almost everything else on the runway.

There were flashes of highlighter yellow and pink, but even they were almost always paired with black. He did soften a few pieces, however, by adding an overlay of "camouflage lace".

Instead of showing a lot of skin, Rodriguez ramped up the sex appeal with strategically placed cutouts like his alternative to the turtleneck, a style he called the "X-neck". It was a high crisscross neckline with just a small triangle of skin showing just above the breastbone.

Celebrity pals Claire Danes, Julianna Margulies and Jessica Seinfeld, as well as new buddy Kanye West, sat in the front row.

For their fall collection, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sister duo behind the label, embraced the tough vibe that spread throughout New York Fashion Week, showing plenty of leather and silver mini-dresses with a tattered, haphazard vibe.

Sleek dresses, most in silver with a few hints of color, were made from layered patchworks of leather, tulle, lace, lame, chiffon and even crystals. The designers fell in love with marbled leather, using it for more than half their looks.

A disco-ball dress for Michelle Obama? Probably not.

But before Thakoon Panichgul famously dressed the now-first lady, cool model types wore the designer's clothes. That's who he seemed to have in mind for his new fall collection, never mind that White House social secretary Desiree Rogers was in the front row next to Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

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