Channeling the late great original, Joan Rivers, who was cremated on Saturday and eulogized at a memorial service at Temple Emanuel on Sunday, “Can we talk?” I wish I could warm up to the Spring Street Studios located in Tribeca, but I honestly don’t understand the appeal it holds for designers, editors, publishers, and retail executives. And I happen to live close enough to almost be able to walk to it.
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Rivera buds blue mikado coat, bra top, and pleated skirt |
Last night, Diane Von Furstenberg held her spring 2014 show, dubbed “Riviera”, at this popular and hip venue, just like she did last season. And the good news is that many past “issues” have seemingly been ironed out (at least there wasn’t freezing ice and snow greeting us as we departed the space as there was in February). While there is always a bit of a bottleneck and traffic jam upon entering the building, it was all handled professionally, and groups of show attendees were guided to elevators, which they saw to it, were not so jam packed as to be dangerous (personally, I still detest any venue where elevators are needed to get large groups of people to their seats, because it makes it hard to get in and out quickly).
When I did finally get to my seat, I noticed that there was a lot of sun flooding the space, coming from the vast west facing windows, and was sorry I forgot my sunscreen. This was not lost on the animated photographers, who began chanting in unison, the iconic Fifth Dimension 70’s song, “Let the sunshine in”. Thankfully, the 5 pm show began at 5:20 sharp, making it ‘early’ in fashion jargon.
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Blue and white stretch gingham top and shorts |
As it turns out, the sun figured in prominently into the proceedings ( the first few sentences of the run of show read: “As the sun sparkles on the Cote d’Azur, she rises in a gingham wrap with a flirty chiffon skirt, a ruffle catching the breeze behind her”). Indeed, the collection had a hard to miss South of France vibe and was heavy on navy and white stripes, toile collage and garden prints, and especially, gingham checks in navy and white, or black and white.
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Black and white gingham silk jersey and chiffon dress |
By the way, gingham checks (in black and white, pink and white, blue and white, red and white), were spotted at Altuzarra the night before, where they showed up as impeccably tailored suits, shirts, and dresses, so I guess we can say this is a ‘trend’. The strongest pieces were in black and white (the first group out), and while they often stood alone, in one instance, Diane mixed them with a toile garden print in pink. There was an unmistakable Bridget Bardot sex kitten vibe, which came by way of body hugging short shorts and form fitting, curve defining dresses. Even some of the models resembled BB, with their pouty lips and long blonde hair parted in the middle
– Marilyn Kirschner
The Daily Bet 9-8-2014 by Rhonda Erb
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