Tommy Hilfiger / Carolina Herrera Spring-Summer 2012

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera looked to the graphic modernism of the Bauhaus movement as the starting point for a collection that translated those characteristic linear motifs into something altogether more feminine.

Tiers and panels of diaphanous fabrics including chiffon and organza were layered to flutter on the breeze, or set as godets into swing skirts; flocks of budgerigars swooped across the little crepe dresses in a delightful print design, and even the boxy purses were crafted from leather so soft they promised to collapse and fold into the glove compartment of a Hispano-Suiza.

Herrera took her palette from the antique Bakelite bangles that accessorized many of the looks à la Nancy Cunard; jade greens, canary yellows, lipstick reds, and the graphic play of black and white.

The thirties motif extended into slinky bias-cut evening dresses frosted with Art Deco embroideries that were simply jagged with sophistication, but those same motifs in the intarsia knit of a lean sweater worn with cropped pants, or as the fine patent belts cinching the waists of sleek little tea dresses brought the looks firmly into the twenty-first century—for Herrera’s decorous modern clients.
For a full profile and more information on Carolina Herrera, go to Voguepedia.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                       



Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

The louche London look Tommy Hilfiger adopted for fall appears to have been the fashion equivalent of a semester abroad, because for spring the designer is firmly planted back on U.S. soil. The collection he showed Sunday was full-on Americana prep. Girls with clean faces and tight ponytails sported striped cable-knit sweaters layered over rugby shirts, crisp shirtdresses with shirttail hems, and glen plaid bikini bottoms worn with color-blocked ponchos all done in Starburst brights.

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

 Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

 Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW




Hilfiger spent the summer globe-trotting with his Prep World pop-up shop, a white clapboard beach house stocked with Prep World-brand clothes, tennis racquets, croquet sets, and ping pong paddles. It made stops everywhere from Paris, Stockholm, and Madrid to Sylt, but it appears that somewhere along the way, Hilfiger decided there’s no place like home.

 

 Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW

Photo: Photo: Marcio Madeira/firstVIEW



Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera

“What defines a day dress is a mystery to me,” says Carolina Herrera, despite the fact that most consider her a go-to for exactly that type of frock, many of which appeared rendered in abstract floral prints in her resort collection. But Herrera’s wonderment relates to her observation that women these days, “look ready for evening as early as 10 A.M.”

Photo: Courtesy of Carolina Herrera


She’s right that women are loosenining up their definition of eveningwear, which is why her interpretation of day-or-night dressing feels so spot on. Her silk-faille bubble skirts and bubble-print embroidered capri pants not only work for occasions before or after sunset, but they will likely appeal to the designer’s growing, younger clientele.

What is less of a mystery to Herrera, however, is how to cover all of resort’s bases. “It’s a fun season,” she says. “It stays on the shop floor for around eight months from November, so it has to be full of color and lightness, but also heavier fabrics.” From her weighty lilac silk duchesse-satin dress (perfect for a city gala in winter or a red carpet), to the lightweight, silk eyelet culottes and charming cotton-voile toadstool-printed dresses (ideal for warmer vacation weather), spanning the multiple season requirements is a seemingly effortless task.