New York Fashion Week Spring ’09: Tadashi Shoji
NEW YORK—Tadashi Shoji fused the purity of light with a modern high-tech edge to create his Spring ’09 Tadashi Shoji collection, shown Sept. 12 at New York Fashion Week. The new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, inspired the Los Angeles–based designer to create the light-infused, ethereal collection. Shoji translated the patterns of light penetrating through the museum’s domed ceiling into translucent graphic laser cuts that decorated many of his fabrics. In a palette of pure white infused with silver and splashes of bright blue and yellow, the collection was clean, yet modern. Racer-back tank tops in Venetian lace were paired with shorts, and silk-organza anoraks were layered over dresses to add a sporty edge. Shoji gave a nod to the future by covering dresses with layers of silver metallic-beaded fringe. It wasn’t easy to add softness to the clean-edged look, but with a deft craftsman’s hand, Shoji added a feminine touch. He made dresses in flowing silk-organza fabrics, applied a flirty cascading ruffled collar to an electric-blue romper and created gowns with intricate-pleating techniques. —N. Jayne Seward
