Designers Liz Collins, Keanan Duffty and Danenberg/Castro’s Rebecca Danenberg and Anthony Castro shared the spotlight at Saturday night’s GenArt/Nokia runway show, an annual Fashion Week event that spotlights fledgling fashion talents each season.
But that’s about all they shared. Each of the collections was as different as could be.
Collins’ line was very organic-looking, largely consisting of tattered, torn and slashed off-white dresses. Many of the Rhode Island-based designer’s pieces featured distinctive red stitching, including a Tarzan-style “vein” dress designed to look as if tree branches were wrapped around it.
Keanan Duffty, who until the last two seasons dealt exclusively in menswear, went full-out ’80s ladies’ style with poofy denim ra-ra skirts, skinny ripped jeans, itsy-bitsy bikini shorts and blouses with trendy, over-the-shoulder draping. Structured pieces are his specialty, so it made sense that a stunning corset jacket stood out from the rest.
“Rebellious sexy” was the theme at the Danenberg/Castro show. The theme was carried out via cathedral-print dresses and diaphanous lace tops, which shared the runway with tight jeans, slinky windowpane print dresses and a gorgeous red pleated mini-dress.