"You Bug Me." That was the message stamped across a black T-shirt that came marching out over a plaid button-down and a long black leather skirt. Why the attitude? Because Vera Wang, wedding dresser to the stars, has gone grunge. Stranger things have happened on a runway, but that tee definitely qualified as a surprise. To everyone, perhaps, except Wang. "People think of me for romance," she said backstage. "But there s always the old references to what our brand stands for. There s a tomboy, male energy mixed in with a sensuality."
That somewhat silly T-shirt aside, the mix that she was talking about made for a diverse, lively Fall offering. Whereas last season she seemed to be stuck in one gear—gossamer sport, let s call it—here she delved into different categories: wool tartan tailoring, tough-chic black leather, floral chiné, pj s dressing, metallic lamés for cocktail hour. Her chunky ribbed knits and argyle sweaters were as good-looking as any we ve seen this week.
Of course, grunge isn t the newest idea on the block. Everyone from Dries Van Noten to Hedi Slimane has done his or her own riffs recently. Although Wang s collection looked a little too close to the Belgian s for comfort at times, there were moments that were identifiably her own. A silvery fine-gauge tank and black stretch lamé mermaid skirt, worn with a man s overcoat falling loosely off one shoulder, was an outfit that tapped into Wang s special ability to make a woman look dressed down while being quite fabulously dressed up.
