NEW YORK (AP) ― Fashion’s top brass seems to like the military look for next fall. Three days into the seasonal previews at New York Fashion Week Saturday, styles for the urban battlefield have emerged as a trend.
Prabal Gurung, one of Michelle Obama’s favorite designers, opened his show with a sharp black cape ― with a black patent-leather tank peeking out ― and black neoprene molded trousers. The outfit oozed strength but it wasn’t overly tough, either.
It was a similar story at the Rag & Bone and Jason Wu shows a day earlier, which both took traditional military touches, including strong shoulders, epaulets, grommets and big buttons, and put them through a feminine filter. Meanwhile, Tommy Hilfiger described his new men’s collection as “an academy look that is sophisticated, modern, a touch rebellious but buttoned up.’’ In the notes from Friday’s show he called the line “a personalized take on military precision.”
“Maybe there’s some subconscious thing with the troops coming out of Iraq,” said Joanna Coles, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire. “There is a more positive spin on military, much more so than when we saw military after 9/11.”
The look is a good one for consumers, she said. “Military is easy to wear. It smartens your outfit, chic-ifies outerwear and it’s a good color range of neutrals that are flattering.”
Coles added, “The military is a well-oiled machine and military clothes reflect that. There’s organization and no room for doubt.”
But there’s a broad range of styles that tap into the trend, from crisp dress clothes inspired by officers to the more hipster interpretation of the urban warrior.
Gurung said his strong runway designs were more to make a statement and tell a story than some of his other looks for fall, which he described as “more wearable and sportswear-driven.” He said he didn’t have the first lady in mind when he conceived of the collection, adding, “I do hope she’s going to like something. But it’s more her effect has tremendous positive impact on my business.”
Saturday evening shows were to include Christian Siriano, who’s zoomed to success since his 2008 win on the “Project Runway” TV show at age 22.
Prabal Gurung offered sharp, edgy black outfits with strong silhouettes, slashed sleeves and high-gloss patent leather and ended with Oscars-worthy white gown gowns with feathers and gold lame. Somewhere in between, he fit in blouses and dresses in a recurring print of a steer’s skull that sounds scary but was subtle and truly lovely.
Gurung created hourglass shapes with sheer panels on models who sometimes looked like beanpoles. Some garments were molded to define silhouettes without making them clingy.
Trousers were narrow but with boot-leg bottoms. Chic coats were also long and lean.
He experimented with mixed textures, offering a patent leather coat embroidered with sheared mink loops, fox fur and tiers of goat hair, and on the other end of the spectrum, a white cocktail dress with a panel of gold tinsel and another of lame.
A red carpet-ready black gown featured sheer tulle covered in beads and crystals.
The second outfit to come down Jill Stuart’s runway, a gold leaf-embroidered T-shirt paired with black sailor pants, is headed straight to the designer’s closet.
She had it earmarked for her wardrobe even before she debuted her fall collection.
Some dresses had flippy, flouncy hemlines and others had a schoolgirl jumper silhouette, adding moments of levity to the catwalk, but the emphasis seemed to be on the sharply defined shoulders, high necklines and the occasion panel of suggestive sheer fabric.
Many of the prints and embroideries featured a floral motif, but there was nothing flowery about black roses on stark winter white backgrounds or prints that seemed to paint a picture of a garden in the dark. This collection showed a more serious side to Stuart.
