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Cynthia Rowley
 Cynthia
Rowley wasn't just a major proponent for New York's shiny happy
"moment", she dived in head first by totally advocating
for her clients going on a permanent vacation and by supplying the
clothing for their trip. She brought the beach to Manhattan by trucking
in tons of sand to create a runway, with a festive augmentation
of a lively band of street drummers. It was so cool. Ms Rowley correctly
read the tea leaves and sent down her runway designs that were whimsical,
simple and quite appealing.
The collection consisted mainly of lovely, lightweight
sun dresses, palazzo-esque wide width pants, airy blouses and other
tops, and shorts (rolled waist and other styles). In a presentation
that has so many great looks, how can one choose? Quite easily,
as a matter of fact. She opened the show with a pretty pink metallic
dress under a brown linen trench coat; and followed that up with
other great designs such as her embroidered hemp dress with cotton
tulle scarf, and her pink metallic wrap dress with uneven hem.
Even while she was busy carving out her own individual
path, she was still able to touch base with many of the trends that
defined the season. Kimanee positively glowed in her red striped
washed cotton shirt paired with a striped cotton jacquard trumpet
skirt. More than anything else, I was very much enchanted with her
wide leg trousers and shorts. Best of show here include her pigment-dyed
denim jeans (paired with a silk empire waist top), her hemp fitted
shorts (paired with an antique lace prairie top) and her shadow
stripe and linen wide leg trousers. We are on a beach but no bathing
suits? Not so fast. They were there but also played a role as tops
under cardigans and other outerwear apparel.
Visible Panty Lines (VPL)
by Victoria Bartlett
THERE ARE really only so many ways
you can present an underwear collection during fashion week. You
can go down the Victoria's Secret road and create an overblown extravaganza.
You can go the sterile but highly effective mannequin route, or
you can take it to new heights of fun and whimsy the way in which
Victoria Bartlett did in presenting her spring 2005 collection.
Ms Bartlett, in an imaginative move, held her
presentation at an upscale gym where she showed her Visible Panty
Lines by Victoria Bartlett line of tank tops, shorts, T-shirts,
miniskirts, bodysuits and underwear designs on models exercising
and seemingly not paying attention to maddening crowd watching them.
These designs truly defy simplified categorization. Are they outerwear
pieces or underwear? Sportswear or lingerie? Who cares? In the final
analysis, it was all wonderful. Most importantly, in presenting
the collection in this manner, she easily showed the versatility
and ease of movement built into each design to great effect. Brava,
Ms Bartlett. To paraphrase the late Selma Diamond on NBC's Night
Court, 'I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me.' •
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Phillip D. Johnson is features' editor of
Lucire. Richard Spiegel is New York editor of Lucire.
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