Le Dernier Cri

This past month in New York, London, Milan and Paris, fashion weeks have been forecasting the trends for next season and allowing designers to show six months worth of hard work to their eager audiences. This season, we saw many new trends for spring, including menswear-inspired looks, muted colors, hats in many forms and the ever-present spring floral print. This season’s looks were much more sophisticated, with clothing that was more structured and planned than that of past years. \nOf course, there were some surprises, as there always are, but only two stick out in my mind. The first was the demure and muted collection from Versace and the second was the collection from Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, whose all-denim maillots and outfits were almost more painful to look at than Britney Spears’ MTV Video Music Awards performance. \nNew York was filled with the casual fashion that we have come to expect from American designers. Perhaps the best example of this approach to fashion this season was Ralph Lauren. His collection included all of the trends listed above, as well as eveningwear that made his models look as if they had stepped out of the pages of “The Great Gatsby.” Lauren’s collection was versatile and the most inspired I have seen all season.\nLondon is known for a more eclectic street look. Julian MacDonald embodied that notion perfectly this season. MacDonald’s designs looked as if they were made for the younger fashion set. With bold prints reminiscent of Pucci and geometric designs in bright colors, MacDonald clearly had a young, hip customer in mind when he designed his shining collection.\nFashion week in Milan was a positive surprise for me. As mentioned above, Donatella Versace – who is known for sexier, wilder designs – showed a collection that was simply fabulous. Sure, there were the token bright ensembles, mostly in a rust color, which was popular this season. But for the most part, it was a muted collection, with the majority of color coming from rich, deep tones. The perfect ending to the collection came in Versace’s signature eveningwear, which was comprised of flowing, Grecian dresses in bright, assertive colors. Versace managed to be sexy this season, but not over the top. There really is something to be said for subtlety and simplicity.\nAs for my favorite collection in Paris, Valentino stole my heart. This season was Valentino’s last as a ready-to-wear designer, and the result was spectacular. The collection highlighted Valentino’s favorite looks and trends from his 45 years in the industry, including polka dots, ruffles and of course, gowns and dresses in his signature red. It was retrospective but fresh. The jelly bean pastels of the structured jackets and spring coats complemented the ruffles and fluffy layers of the evening gowns, and the day dresses were the most sophisticated shown this season. Valentino’s last collection was truly a reminder of why he has managed to stay in the industry so long.\nOf course, I could not include all of my favorite collections. Carmen Marc Valvo was great in New York, while Gucci deserves a mention from Milan. And of course, I loved the ever-influential Christian Dior collection in Paris.