Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Oscar de la Renta .. pre-fall 2013



Well there is no Oscar waiting for Oscar with this collection.  Normally, I am a great fan as I am always awed to witness a designer who has evolved for so many years and still remains on top of his game.  This season, to me, is a very rare misstep for Mr. de la Renta.

For starters, the collection seems to be lost in time and by that I mean what season is this?  The color palette and combinations seems to be very resort or possibly it is aiming at the wear now aspect of its delivery cycle.  Next up, there is this issue of the hemlines which when they hover at the knee and travel south, seem to lend an air of dowdy or possibly overly retro.  Let’s now address the prints which are at best an extremely personal aspect for the buyer at retail or wholesale; personally I was not loving them at all.  Mr. de la Renta has always catered to his ladies and has successfully expanded his fan base over the past couple of decades by giving them his brand of glamor and chic.  This season there seems to be an overwhelmingly referenced tone, primarily Chanel and Prada … not so good.

One has become accustomed to always seeing the most exquisite evening pieces from his collections and yet, this collection falls far short of that customary expectation.  The shapes seem like Oscar but the palette and embellishments and occasionally the lengths detract from what might have been high drama.

Even though, all of this sounds to be highly negative, there were some beautiful pieces within the collection; it is the disappointment which becomes so overbearing.  Again, this selection is supposed to drive sales and even though I am sure there will be sales, I just don’t think it was what it might have been.





P.S. while I  was ecstatic to see hose being used as an accessory, the weight of the black hose was not always working to an advantage.

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