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Jet set go shoes12/10/2022 ![]() ![]() Thick studded leather belts slung low at the hips made models swagger, giving them a bit of the feel of hip chicks of the 1970's. There were elegant batik prints on asymetrical dresses, hand-painted silk gowns with patterns of tribal tattoos and bronze beaded gowns in patterns like woven baskets, sometimes covered with bronze trench coats. The theme was carried through in the details: bronze bracelets embracing forearms, collars elongating necks, a golden ring cinching fabric at the throat, golden wedged shoes in woven leather lengthening the leg. That was how the show could evoke Africa without being condescending or colonial. ![]() ![]() The woven striped column dresses, with their colors of spices, warm burned autumn tones, sunsets and russet hues, could be out of Africa, or they could just be stunning evocations of the easiest American halter dress. But home, in a collection, is where the heart is, and the heart of this show was what is best about American style. Lauren's collection was dedicated to Africa. Ralph Lauren, Todd Oldham and Michael Kors have staked out emotional turf with the sort of stoic fortitude expected of pioneers enduring a land rush. Calling design international is a bit like dunking people in a melting pot: nothing interesting has its identity melted away.Īmerican designers haven't lost much by the Italians being here, precisely because the Italian collections look, well, Italian, and the Americans draw from here. Design doesn't happen in a vacuum it needs a core and a home and a cultural backdrop of its own to make sense. This Italian moment, too, shall pass.īut no matter how out of step the French may seem at this precise moment or how prevalent the Italians, there is nothing worse than the coded weight of being deemed international. The French once tried to take over New York, too, during separate Christian invasions (Dior and Lacroix). French designers have found that out as they've seen their domination rapidly wane. THE mantra for those hoping to offset the Italian invasion this week has been, ''Fashion is international now.'' ![]()
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