The charm-laden froth—the fluff, spirals, and romantic drapes—that Tao Kurihara has made her signature were well represented today. The show opened with a silver-foil sack dress ruffled at the neckline and embroidered with a daisy chain of black ribbon. But, sweetly playful mood established, Kurihara did change tack slightly. Layering on the sinister, she built her twisting, voluminous silhouettes with black-and-gray boleros, drippy with loose, metallic Lurex threads. Black lipstick and ribbed-knit turtlenecks, and dresses with sleeves that inched past the tips of slender fingers, added to the collection s at times witchy spell.
Still, in the end, sweet won out. Kurihara wove candy colors into the picture, tying a fuzzy aqua cape over a turquoise jacket and coordinating plaid balloon shorts, and layering violet or shocking-pink cardigans over T-shirts and knit bloomers. And those black lips were matched by girl-power scribbles ("Be aware," "Be powerful") below the models eyes. Together, it added up to a poetic and idiosyncratic take on the sweater-dressing trend, as well as on the season s artful, statement outerwear. That the designer could ve gotten her messages across in fewer looks and at a less stately pace is but a quibble.
