the GARDEN STATE-ment

The triangle is a geometric shape which has always been an image with meaning of perfection, of divinity. I'm a strong believer in the triangular power, in the idea of greatness composed of three colossal and yet fragile points. But, of course, my beliefs lay upon three different shoulders than the ones on your mind at the moment. Those are Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein.
It is of an extreme difficulty to pull off garments made up by the main plain colors. This is, however, the simplest thing for these three designers. But this time we will be focusing on the Dominican-borned designer, de la Renta.


Since either of the geniouses of fashion can't be less than the others, Mr. Oscar HAD to launch his own Cruise collection. Remember? a collection dedicated to all of you who make a resort in the middle of the winter to go to a warmer place and have a little peace. But if someone was to "wow" us with the Cruise creation, that is de la Renta. That unhuman taste that he posseses allows him to give birth to outstanding pieces. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong about this whole 2008 collection, from colors to accessories, to hair... everything's just swell. It is too bad that the former Christian Dior's ready-to-wear designer hasn't yet dived into the pool and resolved to bring to light a men's collection. But I'm grateful enough for I can glance and appreciate this demonstration of craftsmanship and groundbraking design taken to the next level.



May the show begin.
It is impossible to neglect the seventies inspiration that both the gowns and the two-pieces ensembles have, as it is to do so with the nautical background that resort collections have at all times. Perhaps they all intend to take us to cruises through the Mediterranean Sea for Christmas, who knows. The fact is that Oscar de la Renta accomplishes this perfect coexistence between the nautical world and the 70's along with a fresh and up-to-date view, because what is it special about those old inpirations if there is no updating at all?
For Oscar it is all about feminity, that is why most of his pieces are either cocktail dresses, night gowns or wide-legged pants. It is all about making girls look very lady-like, make them glow and float upon the air as beautiful courtains hanging on a terrace on a St. Tropez summer morning. For me this is the really classy way to do what Marc Jacobs did with his Spring'07 collection for Louis Vuitton; that is bringing up the goddess side of every woman to make them feel what they really are: the nymphs that cast an every-day spell on our hearts. All the clothing by de la Renta makes the woman body look longer, as a picture by "El Greco". Personally, the most exciting detail about this particular collection are the ruffled skirts and dresses which seem very flamenco-inspirated but with the exclusive touch of the Dominican designer.
On the innovative side of the matter it should be remarked that the pieces are masterly made from the richest and best-looking fabrics like taffeta, silk and faille. They are not only short for luxury but also for comfort, since they are a magnificent way to look delicious not giving up the importance of feeling comfortable. Nevertheless, all this appears to be shadowed by COLOR. If I was to choose only one word to describe this set of masterpieces it would definitely be color.


As you might already know by now, I'm not a fan of color —not overused anyway. But I shall make an exception just this once. When someone has this much taste not only to manipulate but to play with hues of the most delightful nature, there is nothing that can go wrong. And this is exactly the case we are dealing with. De la Renta has grown a garden with such a variety of apparently ordinary and yet amazingly beautiful flowers that would make the Palace of Versailles wither with envy. Blue, red, pink, tangerine, beige and yellow mix up with my very beloved black and white and even gold and silver to glam everything up. Flowers are a protagonist themselves, as they make a major appereance on plenty of the fabrics; interweaving with one another but without taking the attention away from their wearer. As a matter of fact they are an excuse to make a woman look even more beautiful. Then we can find horizontally stripped tees with geometric motives as the obvious representation of the nautical vibe of the collection. Polka-dotted ruffled skirts are the evidence of the hypothetical flamenco inspiration I talked about earlier. And last, but not least, to end the fabric part of the review; ribbon-embroidered cocktail dresses are one of the strong points of the compilation of garments that de la Renta presents us with. You'll find them wonderfuly done and elegantly positioned and colored not to result overdone.
As a finishing note I would like to point out the really gorgeous shoes, sandals and heels of all kinds done with a simplicity that results rather stupid and even so, confers them the most accurate beauty. On the other hand and as we keep watching over and over again, waists won't stop going up and finishing on delicate and classic belts that will only make a girl look even more gorgeous.


I encourage you to immerse yourselves into the entire collection and enjoy the flower exhibition.
I'm off.