Donna Karan
In Donna Karan’s program notes, she referred to the spring collection as
“Urban Diversity”, and the global designer waxed poetic about her world
travels, her embrace of different cultures, and the inherent beauty found in
diversity. That’s all fine and dandy however, in a season which has
emphasized cut, shape, structure, athletic wear, luxe sportif, and a
streetwise, utilitarian feeling underlying even the most glamourous evening
wear, her reliance on silk charmeuse, viscose, silk georgette looked a bit
droopy. The 50 pieces worked in a neutral earthy palette seemed redundant and
much of it didn’t seem especially flattering or easy to wear.
When Donna effortlessly combines her formidable sportswear technique with her
artistic bent, that’s when the results are the most rewarding, as seen in
recent seasons. But this time, the softness and often shapeless pieces did
not seem functional (or relevant) for the lives most of us live and they
certainly did not seem especially ‘urban’ as she noted. While some of Donna’s
dresses looked good, (she made a statement with her ‘kaftan’ dresses both
long and short, for day and evening), the group of trompe l'oeil jackets and
coats (they were 1-piece but had the effect of a vest worn over, were
tricky).
When she finally sent out an elongated and easy petrol blazer in hopsack over
a jersey wrap shell and viscose linen and satin twill jodhpur, she seemed to
be hitting her stride, and with the muslin cotton jacquard hooded jacket
(which had the appeal of an anorak), worn belted over a short patchwork panel
dress in voile, the gray viscose and linen satin twill hooded coat with
drawstring waist over a layered tank and pleated short skirt, and lantern
shaped black/incense overscaled ‘cracked earth’ printed linen coat, things
started to look up. An ‘incense’ and bone ombre dyed silk charmeuse plunge
wrap evening gown was beautiful a were a group of long kaftan dresses that
were relatively simple yet dramatic. Too bad she didn’t have more like those.
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