Oscar de la Renta Spring/Summer 2013: Upper East Side Debutantes and 1950s Prom Queens

With Fashion Week raging, Oscar de la Renta was the eye of the New York storm, putting the whirlwind of shows on pause and reminding us all that we were in fact in New York City. As the absolute master of Made in the USA opulence, the designer created the perfect Spring/Summer 2013 collection for a young Upper East Side debutante. Models exuded fresh femininity and elegance, channeling Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. For daytime, looks floated between the flawless elegance of an ecru tapered pant and the luxury of a knee-length dress or skirt, all embellished with embroidery, lace, flowers and pearls. Without going over the top, red roses decorated models' necklines and diamante heart-shaped earrings circa 1995 sparkled on their ears. The collection's delicious palette made us crave a stop after the show at Magnolia Bakery, with its cupcake colors like golden yellow, candy pink, Curacao blue and mint green. Model's walks were airy and delicate, with heels decorated in flowers and bows, and their hair was coiffed into Stepford Wives' beehives infused with a streak of neon color. For nighttime, the collection offered dresses fit for a 1950s prom queen with voluminous skirts in eye-catching colors, and garment embellishments that were almost to haute couture standard. With silvery pearls glistening like shells, ostrich feathers drenched in vibrant pink, diamante embroideries, 3D flowers, iridescent brocade and cascading tulle, not once did we feel visually over-stimulated. On the contrary, we were left wanting more. 

By Jennifer Neyt, translated by Quinn Connors. 

See the review with the collection and details galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

Find more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[source: vogue.f]

Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2013: A Circus of Geometrics

While I continue to work on my articles for Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2013 over the next few days, I will post my editorial translations from Vogue.fr of a few New York Fashion Week shows. French text by Jennifer Neyt, English translation by Quinn Connors.

"The main inspiration this season is the t-shirt," explained Marc Jacobs backstage at his Spring/Summer 2013 show. After a last whimsical season exploring dreamy, imaginary lands, the designer has returned to a more concrete idea of fashion, but that's not to say he didn't lose his illusionist's knack of surprising his audience, and injecting shock and awe where it's least expected. Compared to last year, the show's decor was more minimalist in appearance but in actuality, everything was a puzzling trompe-l'oeil. As the looks progressively popped up one by one, they were distorted and split by the distorting mirrors surrounding the runway, in a tricky game of reflections. The first look out was a white t-shirt with a black barcode printed on the front worn simply over black panties. T-shirts magically elongated into dresses with Bridget Riley-esque optical illusion prints sectioned off into stripes, checks and houndstooth, catching the eye and altering perceptions. Skirts were worn below the knee and paired with cropped tops showing off models' navels. A Mickey Mouse black and white sweatshirt passed by, in a nod to the designer who spoke backstage about his favorite childhood Mickey t-shirt. The prim and proper models wore flat, pointed Mary Janes  that curled at the tip ever so slightly, and delicate floral shapes blossomed on cuffs and ruffled around their necks in a very jester-meets-mime spirit. In the Marc Jacobs circus, all of the garment details accentuated the theatrical side of the center ring event, and the optical effects were even more mesmerizing on the evening dresses. Patterns gradually morphed from bodices into skirts in a gradient effect of checks and stripes, and trompe-l'oeils were present even in the cutting, as an awe-inspiring evening dress rippled down the runway with a skirt cut into strips that cleverly blended into the striped motif of the dress. During the finale, the models returned from the mirrors in a geometric formation, plunging the audience deeper into the designer's contemporary retro vision of the season.

See the review with the collection, backstage, details and front row galleries on Vogue.fr in English.

See more of My Vogue Translations on Pinterest.

xx, Q.

[source: vogue.fr]