Designers bring back classic looks

NEW YORK -- Tommy Hilfiger's spring 2006 collection incorporates many of his signatures: seersucker, madras, the American flag, and red, white and blue.\nBut as Hilfiger marked his 20th anniversary in fashion, he said there were many subtle tweaks to his newest designs. For example, the red is softer -- almost pink. The blue is lighter, and the white is more the color of sand.\n"We're reinventing the classics again," he said before sending a staggering 100 looks down the runway Friday night at New York Fashion Week.\nThe audience, which also watched a video retrospective of Hilfiger the man and Hilfiger the brand, included Paris Hilton, Jesse Metcalfe of "Desperate Housewives" and Jason Lewis ("Sex and the City"), a former Hilfiger model.\n"People in their 20s didn't grow up with madras, seersucker, oxfords and pique (cotton), so we're giving them a new way of their own to wear it," Hilfiger told The Associated Press.\nHis men's styles included a red silk linen three-button blazer with a red, white and green plaid shirt, a blue-and-white seersucker pant with nautical embroidered details, and a blue-and-white striped canvas jacket with a navy hood paired with a khaki knee-length short.\nFor women, he adapted menswear classics to fit a woman's curvy shape. A khaki blazer with shirting piping had a trendy shrunken shape, and a button-down "banker's shirt" had the wide stripes of a rugby shirt and was tied in a knot just above the waist.\nSome combinations seen on the runway might have appeared to be over the top, but Hilfiger is a showman. Many of the individual pieces, such as the full silk skirts, cable-knit sweaters and pants embroidered with beach creatures, will likely find a home in many closets.\nJohn Varvatos, named top menswear designer by the Council of Fashion Designers of America earlier this year, explained in his show notes that he was heavily influenced by utilitarian design.\nThat inspiration was most evident in an earthy peak-lapel "bus driver's jacket" shown with self-belt pants and a linen trench coat in a subtle camouflage pattern.\nBilly Delaino, senior market editor for the men's shopping magazine Cargo, particularly liked a distressed motorcycle vest worn over a white light cotton shirt with flight pants.\n"Varvatos captured the way men dress -- there were a lot of good pieces instead of a head-to-toe look. It's about dressing being easy," he said.\nDelaino said the menswear look for spring is classic American style with traditional pieces being worn in new ways.\nHe noted Kenneth Cole's use of a dark navy seersucker and DKNY Men's pairing of a worn-in leather jacket with a cardigan underneath and pinstriped trousers.\nFashion Week, which runs through Friday, now turns its focus to women's wear, with spring previews by designers including Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and singer Gwen Stefani.