Karen Walker was definitely the envy of New York fashion week today: As the designer explained before her show this afternoon, she d wrapped up preparations a day early, and treated herself to ten—yes, ten—hours of sleep. That s the kind of rest pretty much every other designer dreams about, or would if they ever had the chance to go to bed.
Walker s relaxed pre-show state speaks to more than the fact that she lucked into a fashion week lie-in, however. As the collection she showed today proved, yet again, Karen Walker is a designer entirely at ease with her brand; season after season, she settles into its slightly offbeat, sweet tomboy idiom like it s an old pair of slippers. This season, bouncing way off the Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , she added grace notes of bourgeois Victoriana and Brian Jones-esque peacock mod to her signature look.
In practice, the Victoriana translated into ruffled collars and trim naval notes of natty wool bouclé and gold hardware; and a fair amount of gold fabric. Boxy coats and jackets in a gold wool-blend material with a black undertone were particularly good, as were the pieces in a brighter gold wallpaper flock. The mod end of the spectrum was capably represented by A-line dresses, paisley prints, and Chelsea boots. Fuzzy sweaters and Walker-signature boyish trousers in yellow and orangy red gave the whole thing a modern pop. It was an eclectic mix of ideas, but Walker tied them together seamlessly..
