In fashion as in politics, regime change is in the air. As Calvin Klein watched from the sidelines another designer's debut at the company he founded, it marked a symbolic moment during New York's summer 2004 season. A sword of Damocles has been hanging over the fashion world as the 20th-century designer generation ages. And it has now fallen. After Yves Saint Laurent, the kingpin of French fashion, retired two years ago, it is time for America to lose one of its mighty pillars.
.
"I didn't really feel emotional - I feel good," said Klein, although his former wife Kelly was in tears and Bianca Jagger, who accompanied her designer friend to the show and to the after-party, said that she felt "sad."
.
"He is a great designer - I think of him like Andy [Warhol] - they both marked their eras," said Jagger, who has known Klein since the Studio 54 days in the 1970's. Wearing a severe but sexy black pantsuit, she joined the applause for Francisco Costa, 34, a Brazilian-born designer who formerly worked with Gucci and Oscar de la Renta. He made a respectable job of his new role, while Klein will remain as a consultant director.
.
There was more nostalgia in the air at Bill Blass, where the veteran designer Michaele Vollbracht was brought in to remake the collection as though familiar pantsuits, three-quarter coats and plaids were preserved in aspic.
.
The succession question is a tricky one. A strong designer has a powerful and unique voice that is almost impossible to replicate. The solution is to turn the company from a personal label into a brand, but today's marketing strategy demands a full-blown fashion show and a personality to define it. If there is a mere echo of the master's voice, the brand starts to weaken; but there is danger too in the design successor who sings a different tune.
.
In those circumstances Costa did alright - even if the styling of the show suggested Prada when coats in textured fabrics were shown with narrow belts and a mannish sweater was worn in an off-hand way over a crisp shirt.
.
"To me, the essence of Calvin Klein is the simplicity and the sex appeal - but I am trying to incorporate something of my own - I'm not Calvin," said Costa who used Klein's studio setting but had symbolically let the daylight stream in through open windows.
.
Prints inspired by art works of William Burrows and Brian Gysen were the unexpected element. Sex (or "sensuality" as Costa preferred to describe it) translated the effect of nude fabrics stretched into slim skirts with a blush of color at the edges. Those shades included tobacco brown and turquoise from Moroccan inspiration, leaf green for a swimsuit and a sudden flash of sugar pink for a shimmering taffeta dress. A skirt split up the back to show the rump totally missed Klein's subversive cool, but the mix of masculine pants with taut tank top was very "Calvin," as was the presentation on models with simple ponytails and pretty makeup.
.
If Costa can follow through this collection, fusing Klein's minimalism with body-conscious Brazilian style, he may create a new but signature look.
.
At Blass, Vollbracht's approach was so reverential that you could almost hear the sighs of relief from clients who are on the social register and fixtures at uptown benefits. Another pantsuit for those lunchtime do's? Here's one that looks so very "Bill," with its faint tattersall checks. A wedding? There's a nice shantung swing coat over a slim skirt. A country dance? Then that sweater with a taffetas ball skirt looks so very upscale American. You might think that such clients already have similar garments in their closets. But to conservative folk (and that surely includes the many Bill Blass licensees), the familiar is very reassuring. Hence also the use of models of what the French call a certain age.
.
If the management aim is to fossilize the look - rather than to adapt it to a new generation - then Vollbracht produced the collection as required.
.
Who in the new designer generation has a "voice"? Marc Jacobs, of course, even if his junior Marc line seemed formulaic: a kooky mix of cute shorts, sports pieces, sweet skirts, T-shirts scattered with hearts and boots in sunny-side-up colors. These are clothes for "My Little Pony" girls growing up to be college kids still this side of innocence. The show was youthful, eclectic, colorful and perhaps required more design skill than it seemed.
.
Narciso Rodriguez strikes perfect pitch - but plays to a single tune. If you don't want a pencil slim silhouette of a dress artfully pieced together in tweedy linen to the slender body, then Rodriguez is not your man. Yet there is a graphic modernity to his work that is appealing in its lack of fussiness. Even when a dress has tram lines of seaming at the front, a zipper whizzing down the spine or triangles cut out to show flesh at the hips, the effect is still dynamic. The curvy silhouette with skirt ending below the knee might recall Dolce Gabbana, but the proportions looked fresh in a short wide jacket above skinny cropped pants. Sweet pea colors, especially a pale lilac, brought warmth to beige.
.
What the show lacked was a sense that Rodriguez is prepared to explore new territory, such as the softly draped dress or the fluted skirt - rather than keeping to his own beat. Badgley Mischka's thing is embellishment, but the design duo had a fresher take for the summer season. The bow dominated their eveningwear collection, either as a ribbon wrapped around a skirt or as cutie pie bows on the shoulder of a frayed white chiffon dress. The result was an evening collection where the clothes were simpler than usual in spite of the ribbon tie theme which was worked into satin, crepe georgette and lace. Even sparkling embroidered beading formed the trussed up effect of a prettily wrapped parcel. This evening glamour was greeted with an enthusiastic smile by Beyoncé, the current hot celebrity, who sat front row.
.
Catherine Malandrino had snagged Lenny Kravitz as guest of honor for a show that had a certain Gauloise and garter-belt French-ness. The designer's voice seems to vary, but the curvy cut of her pants and use of sheer fabrics in jewel colors set an intriguing nocturnal tone. And in a city where fashionistas are banned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for indulging in cigarettes, Malandrino's smoky colors and purses, like cigarette packs carrying her name, added a touch of cool.
.
As the celebrity circus gathers pace at the New York collections, some brands seem to be judged more by who is watching the show rather than what walks the runway. One-time kidnap victim Patty Hearst and Kathy Hilton, mother of the Barbie blonde sisters, were just two examples of fodder for the paparazzi.
.
In that celebrity context, it was smart of Visionaire, the fashion-as-art bible, to stage at Madame Tussauds a party to celebrate its unlikely association with the Gap. Guests found the red carpet lined with wax work images of Jean Paul Gaultier (in matelot sweater and kilt), Michael Jackson and Elton John, and they were able to strike a pose with Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts or Ivana Trump for the ever-present cameras.
.
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune. NEW YORK In fashion as in politics, regime change is in the air. As Calvin Klein watched from the sidelines another designer's debut at the company he founded, it marked a symbolic moment during New York's summer 2004 season. A sword of Damocles has been hanging over the fashion world as the 20th-century designer generation ages. And it has now fallen. After Yves Saint Laurent, the kingpin of French fashion, retired two years ago, it is time for America to lose one of its mighty pillars.
.
"I didn't really feel emotional - I feel good," said Klein, although his former wife Kelly was in tears and Bianca Jagger, who accompanied her designer friend to the show and to the after-party, said that she felt "sad."
.
"He is a great designer - I think of him like Andy [Warhol] - they both marked their eras," said Jagger, who has known Klein since the Studio 54 days in the 1970's. Wearing a severe but sexy black pantsuit, she joined the applause for Francisco Costa, 34, a Brazilian-born designer who formerly worked with Gucci and Oscar de la Renta. He made a respectable job of his new role, while Klein will remain as a consultant director.
.
There was more nostalgia in the air at Bill Blass, where the veteran designer Michaele Vollbracht was brought in to remake the collection as though familiar pantsuits, three-quarter coats and plaids were preserved in aspic.
.
The succession question is a tricky one. A strong designer has a powerful and unique voice that is almost impossible to replicate. The solution is to turn the company from a personal label into a brand, but today's marketing strategy demands a full-blown fashion show and a personality to define it. If there is a mere echo of the master's voice, the brand starts to weaken; but there is danger too in the design successor who sings a different tune.
.
In those circumstances Costa did alright - even if the styling of the show suggested Prada when coats in textured fabrics were shown with narrow belts and a mannish sweater was worn in an off-hand way over a crisp shirt.
.
"To me, the essence of Calvin Klein is the simplicity and the sex appeal - but I am trying to incorporate something of my own - I'm not Calvin," said Costa who used Klein's studio setting but had symbolically let the daylight stream in through open windows.
.
Prints inspired by art works of William Burrows and Brian Gysen were the unexpected element. Sex (or "sensuality" as Costa preferred to describe it) translated the effect of nude fabrics stretched into slim skirts with a blush of color at the edges. Those shades included tobacco brown and turquoise from Moroccan inspiration, leaf green for a swimsuit and a sudden flash of sugar pink for a shimmering taffeta dress. A skirt split up the back to show the rump totally missed Klein's subversive cool, but the mix of masculine pants with taut tank top was very "Calvin," as was the presentation on models with simple ponytails and pretty makeup.
.
If Costa can follow through this collection, fusing Klein's minimalism with body-conscious Brazilian style, he may create a new but signature look.
.
At Blass, Vollbracht's approach was so reverential that you could almost hear the sighs of relief from clients who are on the social register and fixtures at uptown benefits. Another pantsuit for those lunchtime do's? Here's one that looks so very "Bill," with its faint tattersall checks. A wedding? There's a nice shantung swing coat over a slim skirt. A country dance? Then that sweater with a taffetas ball skirt looks so very upscale American. You might think that such clients already have similar garments in their closets. But to conservative folk (and that surely includes the many Bill Blass licensees), the familiar is very reassuring. Hence also the use of models of what the French call a certain age.
.
If the management aim is to fossilize the look - rather than to adapt it to a new generation - then Vollbracht produced the collection as required.
.
Who in the new designer generation has a "voice"? Marc Jacobs, of course, even if his junior Marc line seemed formulaic: a kooky mix of cute shorts, sports pieces, sweet skirts, T-shirts scattered with hearts and boots in sunny-side-up colors. These are clothes for "My Little Pony" girls growing up to be college kids still this side of innocence. The show was youthful, eclectic, colorful and perhaps required more design skill than it seemed.
.
Narciso Rodriguez strikes perfect pitch - but plays to a single tune. If you don't want a pencil slim silhouette of a dress artfully pieced together in tweedy linen to the slender body, then Rodriguez is not your man. Yet there is a graphic modernity to his work that is appealing in its lack of fussiness. Even when a dress has tram lines of seaming at the front, a zipper whizzing down the spine or triangles cut out to show flesh at the hips, the effect is still dynamic. The curvy silhouette with skirt ending below the knee might recall Dolce Gabbana, but the proportions looked fresh in a short wide jacket above skinny cropped pants. Sweet pea colors, especially a pale lilac, brought warmth to beige.
.
What the show lacked was a sense that Rodriguez is prepared to explore new territory, such as the softly draped dress or the fluted skirt - rather than keeping to his own beat. Badgley Mischka's thing is embellishment, but the design duo had a fresher take for the summer season. The bow dominated their eveningwear collection, either as a ribbon wrapped around a skirt or as cutie pie bows on the shoulder of a frayed white chiffon dress. The result was an evening collection where the clothes were simpler than usual in spite of the ribbon tie theme which was worked into satin, crepe georgette and lace. Even sparkling embroidered beading formed the trussed up effect of a prettily wrapped parcel. This evening glamour was greeted with an enthusiastic smile by Beyoncé, the current hot celebrity, who sat front row.
.
Catherine Malandrino had snagged Lenny Kravitz as guest of honor for a show that had a certain Gauloise and garter-belt French-ness. The designer's voice seems to vary, but the curvy cut of her pants and use of sheer fabrics in jewel colors set an intriguing nocturnal tone. And in a city where fashionistas are banned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for indulging in cigarettes, Malandrino's smoky colors and purses, like cigarette packs carrying her name, added a touch of cool.
.
As the celebrity circus gathers pace at the New York collections, some brands seem to be judged more by who is watching the show rather than what walks the runway. One-time kidnap victim Patty Hearst and Kathy Hilton, mother of the Barbie blonde sisters, were just two examples of fodder for the paparazzi.
.
In that celebrity context, it was smart of Visionaire, the fashion-as-art bible, to stage at Madame Tussauds a party to celebrate its unlikely association with the Gap. Guests found the red carpet lined with wax work images of Jean Paul Gaultier (in matelot sweater and kilt), Michael Jackson and Elton John, and they were able to strike a pose with Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts or Ivana Trump for the ever-present cameras.
.
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune. NEW YORK In fashion as in politics, regime change is in the air. As Calvin Klein watched from the sidelines another designer's debut at the company he founded, it marked a symbolic moment during New York's summer 2004 season. A sword of Damocles has been hanging over the fashion world as the 20th-century designer generation ages. And it has now fallen. After Yves Saint Laurent, the kingpin of French fashion, retired two years ago, it is time for America to lose one of its mighty pillars.
.
"I didn't really feel emotional - I feel good," said Klein, although his former wife Kelly was in tears and Bianca Jagger, who accompanied her designer friend to the show and to the after-party, said that she felt "sad."
.
"He is a great designer - I think of him like Andy [Warhol] - they both marked their eras," said Jagger, who has known Klein since the Studio 54 days in the 1970's. Wearing a severe but sexy black pantsuit, she joined the applause for Francisco Costa, 34, a Brazilian-born designer who formerly worked with Gucci and Oscar de la Renta. He made a respectable job of his new role, while Klein will remain as a consultant director.
.
There was more nostalgia in the air at Bill Blass, where the veteran designer Michaele Vollbracht was brought in to remake the collection as though familiar pantsuits, three-quarter coats and plaids were preserved in aspic.
.
The succession question is a tricky one. A strong designer has a powerful and unique voice that is almost impossible to replicate. The solution is to turn the company from a personal label into a brand, but today's marketing strategy demands a full-blown fashion show and a personality to define it. If there is a mere echo of the master's voice, the brand starts to weaken; but there is danger too in the design successor who sings a different tune.
.
In those circumstances Costa did alright - even if the styling of the show suggested Prada when coats in textured fabrics were shown with narrow belts and a mannish sweater was worn in an off-hand way over a crisp shirt.
.
"To me, the essence of Calvin Klein is the simplicity and the sex appeal - but I am trying to incorporate something of my own - I'm not Calvin," said Costa who used Klein's studio setting but had symbolically let the daylight stream in through open windows.
.
Prints inspired by art works of William Burrows and Brian Gysen were the unexpected element. Sex (or "sensuality" as Costa preferred to describe it) translated the effect of nude fabrics stretched into slim skirts with a blush of color at the edges. Those shades included tobacco brown and turquoise from Moroccan inspiration, leaf green for a swimsuit and a sudden flash of sugar pink for a shimmering taffeta dress. A skirt split up the back to show the rump totally missed Klein's subversive cool, but the mix of masculine pants with taut tank top was very "Calvin," as was the presentation on models with simple ponytails and pretty makeup.
.
If Costa can follow through this collection, fusing Klein's minimalism with body-conscious Brazilian style, he may create a new but signature look.
.
At Blass, Vollbracht's approach was so reverential that you could almost hear the sighs of relief from clients who are on the social register and fixtures at uptown benefits. Another pantsuit for those lunchtime do's? Here's one that looks so very "Bill," with its faint tattersall checks. A wedding? There's a nice shantung swing coat over a slim skirt. A country dance? Then that sweater with a taffetas ball skirt looks so very upscale American. You might think that such clients already have similar garments in their closets. But to conservative folk (and that surely includes the many Bill Blass licensees), the familiar is very reassuring. Hence also the use of models of what the French call a certain age.
.
If the management aim is to fossilize the look - rather than to adapt it to a new generation - then Vollbracht produced the collection as required.
.
Who in the new designer generation has a "voice"? Marc Jacobs, of course, even if his junior Marc line seemed formulaic: a kooky mix of cute shorts, sports pieces, sweet skirts, T-shirts scattered with hearts and boots in sunny-side-up colors. These are clothes for "My Little Pony" girls growing up to be college kids still this side of innocence. The show was youthful, eclectic, colorful and perhaps required more design skill than it seemed.
.
Narciso Rodriguez strikes perfect pitch - but plays to a single tune. If you don't want a pencil slim silhouette of a dress artfully pieced together in tweedy linen to the slender body, then Rodriguez is not your man. Yet there is a graphic modernity to his work that is appealing in its lack of fussiness. Even when a dress has tram lines of seaming at the front, a zipper whizzing down the spine or triangles cut out to show flesh at the hips, the effect is still dynamic. The curvy silhouette with skirt ending below the knee might recall Dolce Gabbana, but the proportions looked fresh in a short wide jacket above skinny cropped pants. Sweet pea colors, especially a pale lilac, brought warmth to beige.
.
What the show lacked was a sense that Rodriguez is prepared to explore new territory, such as the softly draped dress or the fluted skirt - rather than keeping to his own beat. Badgley Mischka's thing is embellishment, but the design duo had a fresher take for the summer season. The bow dominated their eveningwear collection, either as a ribbon wrapped around a skirt or as cutie pie bows on the shoulder of a frayed white chiffon dress. The result was an evening collection where the clothes were simpler than usual in spite of the ribbon tie theme which was worked into satin, crepe georgette and lace. Even sparkling embroidered beading formed the trussed up effect of a prettily wrapped parcel. This evening glamour was greeted with an enthusiastic smile by Beyoncé, the current hot celebrity, who sat front row.
.
Catherine Malandrino had snagged Lenny Kravitz as guest of honor for a show that had a certain Gauloise and garter-belt French-ness. The designer's voice seems to vary, but the curvy cut of her pants and use of sheer fabrics in jewel colors set an intriguing nocturnal tone. And in a city where fashionistas are banned by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for indulging in cigarettes, Malandrino's smoky colors and purses, like cigarette packs carrying her name, added a touch of cool.
.
As the celebrity circus gathers pace at the New York collections, some brands seem to be judged more by who is watching the show rather than what walks the runway. One-time kidnap victim Patty Hearst and Kathy Hilton, mother of the Barbie blonde sisters, were just two examples of fodder for the paparazzi.
.
In that celebrity context, it was smart of Visionaire, the fashion-as-art bible, to stage at Madame Tussauds a party to celebrate its unlikely association with the Gap. Guests found the red carpet lined with wax work images of Jean Paul Gaultier (in matelot sweater and kilt), Michael Jackson and Elton John, and they were able to strike a pose with Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts or Ivana Trump for the ever-present cameras.
.
Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune.
