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Reviews from Thursday at New York Fashion Week – Metro US

Reviews from Thursday at New York Fashion Week

Metro’s style reporters Kenya Hunt and Tina Chadha took in the
scene this week at New York Fashion Week. Which looks did they love?
Find out below:

1. Anna Sui

Girls just want to have fun — especially if they’re wearing any of Anna Sui’s boho glam spring collection. The designer turned to the work of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez’s move to Paris in the ’70s, where his inner circle included “it” girls known for their bohemian-chic wares and carefree, dancing-on-tables spirit. But Sui also had pin-up girls in mind. Models in ’40s-style chiffon dresses covered in a plethora of vintage prints — from cherries to hearts to stars to even toothbrushes — cheekily strutted down the runway with their big, bouncy, Hollywood siren curls tucked under turbans (yes, turbans!). Most looks came with the matching headwear or veiled headbands. It all sounds a bit too much, but there was a surprising wearablity to the looks. Take it from all the editors mentally making their spring shopping lists. – Tina Chadha

2. 23.1 Phillip Lim

This show week was in need of more variety. So Lim’s relaxed, unfussy clothes in cool neutrals with an occasional moment of pastel pink or apricot was like a glass of water in the desert. (We’ve seen a lot of wild colors and prints this week.) Most likely, those shoppers who feel overwhelmed by all the loud patterns in stores next spring will feel the same way. – Kenya Hunt

3. Milly

Holy sensory overload: Inspired by the abstract artist Sonia Delaunay, Michelle Smith sent out feminine separates with trippy geometric prints — zigzags, Tetris shapes, rectangles and stripes — in bright, bold colors (along with a dose of chocolate brown). On top of that, adorable brooches pinned to coats or blouses and wedge-heeled boat shoes (a limited-edition line the designer is launching for Sperry Top-Sider) competed for our attention. Overall, the collection was fun with some must-haves (a gorgeous, long, pleated silk georgette dress; any of the cardigans) and some misfires (the retro cobalt pencil skirt and dresses felt like uniforms for the crew of “Pan Am”). – Tina Chadha

4. Gap

The brand is in a state of transition right now. Patrick Robinson has left and the landscape of mass market clothing is changing at breakneck speed. How can the Gap compete in a world where J.Crew is associated with the First Lady and Versace is designing for H&M? Gap’s spring collection didn’t answer any of those questions with its tight collection of sorbet- colored denim, bikinis and striped tees and dresses. They were fun summer staples, but didn’t particularly stand out from or best what other all-American brands showed this week. – Kenya Hunt

5. Ralph Lauren

If the fashion industry’s feeling the prospect of a deepening recession, it isn’t showing on the runway. Ralph Lauren’s collection was pure escapist fantasy, bringing to mind 1920s-era MGM ingenues floating down the steps of a gilded nightclub to a waiting car. There were silk georgette, bias-cut slip dresses in shimmery, high-gloss fabrics worn with oversized ostrich feather boas for heightened drama. Lauren juxtaposed them with mannish, Greta Garbo-esque three-piece suits. Even the colors (ivory, blush, sage, mint and a pale blue) had the otherworldly softness of Hollywood’s earliest films. It sounds like a costume party on paper, but on the runway he struck the right balance. Don’t be surprised to see these glamorous beauties surfacing on many an A-lister (our bets are placed on Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Middleton) in coming months. – Kenya Hunt