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Marc Jacobs sure knows how to turn the page on a set of trends. With a blast of punk sound, Jacobs ushered in a mean, Mod mini-malism that swept away all embellishment and sentiment. Op art was worked in all widths of stripe, from a scallop-edge mini dress to a boxy suit with the skirt slung low on the hips, subverting the schoolgirl propriety of the box pleats. Just add pointy Chelsea boots with a striped cone heel, box handbag and rat’s nest ponytail and you’re ready to go downtown and get up to no good.
Jacobs wasn’t the only one rocking out. For spring, designers are looking everywhere from the natural world to the rock world, interpreting it in ways that are a breath of fresh air this week.
Bridging the uptown and the downtown crowds, Wes Gordon brought rock ’n’ roll sensibility to swan-print decorated kimono tops and a slip of a dress, while “Swan Lake” seemed to influence the decoration on some glitter rock flare pants and an evening mini.
The beat went on at Theyskens’ Theory, where designer Olivier Theyskens resurrected such ’80s hits as the long-sleeve minidress, pleated slouch pants, duster coats and wide-shouldered jackets, injecting them with his usual otherwordly fabric choices and a cool falling somewhere between David Bowie and “Blade Runner.” For his rock revue, Phillip Lim had the good taste to name check everyone from Comme des Garcons to Ann Demeulemeester and Margiela to Katharine Hamnett, with some grunge thrown in for good measure, but his remix of deconstructed plaids, florals and utility items was anything but derivative.