The Young Guns - CATHERINE MALANDRINO:
French born Malandrino is really hitting her stride and came into her own this season with a highly appealing collection which struck a perfect balance of tailored chic, romantically soft, with a heavy dose of feminine, eccentric flourishes to keep it looking individual and personal. Catherine admitted she was taken by the creativity of Blake Edward's 1968 move, "The Party", of which she said, "The unexpected drove my imagination". She therefore dubbed this collection, "The Party", and what a party it was. She wisely used her brand new shop in the Meatpacking district (she recently opened up a fabulous shop in Easthampton over the summer), decorated with Laura Spector's rustic furniture, as the intimate setting for the 34- piece informal show which celebrated "forgotten techniques of the past, amazing individuality and very special handwork", embodied in the beautiful hand crochets, embroideries, macramŽ's, and passementerie which was rendered in combinations of brocade, lace, cotton voile, cotton lame jacquard, silk cotton jacquard, silk chiffon, silk jersey and knit pointelle. Many of her "floating" dresses were suspended from necklaces; she used slouchy pants, jodhpurs, and gauchos effectively, pairing them unexpectedly with sequined mesh jackets, bobbin lace camisoles, elongated pointelle cardigans, and capelet blouses; and added pompoms to some of her hand crochet tanks and dresses.