"I always wanted to live a man s life in a woman s body." That quote, which appeared at the top of her show notes, is something Diane von Furstenberg has said before, so it s perhaps surprising that men s suiting is something she hasn t explored much in the past. Its appearance here today helped make for one of the designer s more satisfying shows in a while.
To start things off, von Furstenberg threw a bolero densely embroidered with chiffon rosettes over a heather gray felted wool double-breasted pantsuit with short, cuffed trousers. It was a novel concept that she repeated later with an ivory silk cord cardigan worn over a satin black tuxedo jacket and matching evening jumpsuit, though it s not as believable a look as, say, a corduroy jacket with leather elbow patches slipped on top of a ruffled chiffon minidress.
But it wasn t all about playing the hard against the soft. Frocks, the wrap dress in particular, are this designer s bread and butter, and there was no shortage of feminine frills here. Some of the more interesting offerings included a simple black shift with chain mail inset horizontally below the hips, a twenties-ish belted chiffon tunic dress worn over cropped pants, and a vibrant panne velvet number embellished with a giant glittering beetle, not unlike the dress von Furstenberg wore to take her bow. This was her right-hand man Nathan Jenden s last show; he s leaving to focus on his signature collection. No doubt they were both pleased to be ending their relationship on a positive note for their victory lap.
