People who scope out the red carpet with the intensity of a Red Sox fanatic at Fenway Park will recognize Peter Soronen s name. Reese Witherspoon and Sarah Jessica Parker have been "papped" in his dresses. An expert corsetiere, Soronen started selling his pieces at Barneys six years ago. "Peter s work appeals to a very discerning customer, someone who can have anything she wants," commented Julie Gilhart, the store s fashion director. Now, for the first time, Soronen has made the jump to the runway—and his debut, while hardly flawless, served to give a wider audience a good idea of what this designer s all about.
A ribbon-laced corset made of sheets of copper was mainly a showpiece (or a fetishist s special order), but a cream satin flute-back gown with jet embroidery was not unworthy of Audrey Hepburn as Sabrina. An asymmetrical scarlet satin gown had Dita Von Teese s name written all over it; yes, Soronen s aesthetic tends toward the forties. Anomalous, but beautiful, was a chiffon gown printed with forest-floor flora: While corseted, it emphasized flou over form. A bit of Soronen trivia for those obsessive fans out there: He has fashioned Napoleon and harlequin stage costumes for Fischerspooner, the electroclash duo that did his runway music.
