Some of latest highlights at New York Fashion Week:
NO SHENANIGANS FOR NARCISO RODRIGUEZ
If you're looking for fuss and noise in your fashion, don't go see Narciso Rodriguez.
Rodriguez presented a sleek, disciplined and beautifully tailored collection Tuesday evening, thrilling fashion fans who might be wearying from some of the louder spectacles of Fashion Week, now in its closing days.
And while some designers sent overt messages about the nation's political and social turmoil - slogans on T-shirts, for example - Rodriguez was happy to let his craftsmanship do the talking. "No shenanigans anywhere," he said, summing up his collection.
"I think there's so much fashion today and there's so much theater and that's great," he said in a backstage interview. "But I guess what I am trying to say is that the climate we're experiencing has made me focus on things that are pragmatic and real and beautifully made."
Standout garments included dresses and tops with ladder-like cutouts in front, adding a bit of spice to the impeccably tailored look. There were cropped pants, a few filmy black tops, and shimmering paillette dresses. There were sleek cashmere or wool coats in black, white, gray and copper, and a loosely fitting silk dress that looked impossibly soft.
"I think everything that happens in the world affects any creator, any filmmaker, everyone, and this is certainly a time where I was focusing on creating things that women were going to be wearing in the future," Rodriguez said. "And hopefully getting rid of any of the nonsense."
He said he hoped to be making garments that women would keep forever in their closets.
"I think we have the capability ... to create things that empower people - not because they're wearing huge shoulder pads, or impractical things, or costumes, but you can make people feel really good by giving them something that they'll treasure for their entire life, and they'll want to keep in their wardrobe forever and hopefully pass it on to their daughter," he said.
Front-row guests included the newly arrived Calvin Klein designer Raf Simons, and actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
- Jocelyn Noveck