Backstage before her show, Martine Sitbon explained that although her Fall collection was a collage of various references ("Some of the twenties, forties, sixties," she said), its overarching theme was trompe l oeil. What is it about designers of both today and yesterday that makes them want to trick their clientele s eyes—and eventually bring them in on the stylish joke, then help them in perpetrating the same? Well, aside from being a potential conversation piece, at least for today, it s a way to capitalize on the multitude of fabric innovations at hand.
Dresses are Sitbon s comfort zone, so most of her visual sleight of hand was channeled into those. She began with an almost waffle- textured woven jacquard that mixed it up seamlessly with a sort of homey-looking honeycomb mohair knit on body-hugging midi dresses—a silhouette that s spot-on for right now. These were interesting theoretically, if a bit clunky in execution. Some of the best pieces, however, came last. Sitbon referenced her own use of velvet dévoré with actual Art Nouveau motif cutouts. A couple had a beautiful stained glass effect. When it came to tailoring, the trickery was to take the stuffing out of evening jackets by flattening collars and pockets into insets. "It s like a cardigan," said Sitbon.
Curiously, when it came to the best dresses in this collection—the naughty-chic sheer bright ones striped with pintucked seams and dotted with little chiffon rosettes—the jig was up. They weren t simple in construction, but they didn t incorporate illusions, either. The only trick here? Perhaps luring a romantic interest with your sartorial siren call.
