DAY two of New York Fashion Week may seem too early to start proclaiming the season's trends (we've many weeks before all is said and done), but its hard to ignore that patterns are already emerging. In place of the ever malleable and flattering black, many designers are favoring a more inclusive stance on coloration. For those ladies ready for a break from drab, muddy tones (and one glance at the front row of Jason Wu's spring show—including Glee's Lea Michele—many are) it looks like they'll have plenty of options to choose from next season.
Wu noted that for this collection he looked to combine the refinement of couture with the dynamism of the Pop Art movement. If this sounds familiar, you may be thinking of Raf Simons' collection for Jil Sander for spring/summer 2011. Indeed, Wu offset his sharply articulated waistlines with rippling peplums and full skirts. Chartreuse and pale pink pieces were a bold contrast to gauzy blouses (many sleeveless and shown with meticulously-beaded collars), and beautifully crafted pants in black, grey and white, or the monochrome floral print (made in collaboration with the artist KAWS).
Where Simons chose to show couture shapes in dramatic, sweeping brushes, Wu found a markedly American sense of ease and grace. There was no overcooked severity or theatricality - the Wu woman turns heads with a much less cloying sense of poise. For example, the windbreaker - one of the most casual garments of the fashion canon - received a masterly makeover when cinched by drawstring and gathered at the waist, only to billow out behind with an asymmetric hem. Wu must sense that his eveningwear has become a sought-after staple as he wowed onlookers with richly coloured confections to close the show, featuring brightly coloured tiers of cascading silk gazar sweeping across the runway of overlapping white tiles.
SEE THE JASON WU SHOW ARCHIVE