New York Fashion Week '05: BCBG Goes Bohemian for Fall 2005
A gypsy landed in the middle of an early 20th century British tea party on Feb. 7, the night the BCBG Max Azria collection presented its Fall 2005 line at New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park.
Vernon, Calif.–based BCBG continued the bohemian theme it showed in Spring 2005, offering demure lengths, graceful silhouettes and bright embroidery on hems. But an anticipated turn in the weather heralded hardy materials such as wool herringbone, goat fur and tweed to balance fluid silk chiffon, velveteen and jersey fabrics. Jackets and coats harked back to the Edwardian era with their tailoring and cuts. On the color palette, Spring’s pink, coral, sherbet green and lilac yielded space to Fall’s mustard, turquoise, burnt orange and purple. Sequins added a bit of pizzazz to hand crochet and smocking.
For day and night, Azria and his wife and muse, Lubov, emphasized nonchalance in mixing fabrics and styles. A cropped wool felt peacoat in burnt orange protected a silk crepe de chine camisole over velveteen pants tucked into black cuffed suede boots. The peasant blouse was reworked into a crinkled silk chiffon dress in solid turquoise and cinched with a studded suede belt. Prints of vivid stripes and what resembled sunspots covered other silk dresses that fell past the knee.
For a night out on the town, silk chiffon dresses that had web-like crochet details afforded a peek of skin underneath. One black sequined cape had sleeves that shimmered like luxurious bat wings. A devil-maycare attitude also seeped into the way dark tights were mixed with wedge heels and a black silk scarf dangled off a chalk crochet cardigan.
The 43-piece collection proved that handcrafted did not have to be synonymous with old-fashioned but could be luxurious and romantic. —Khanh T.L. Tran
