Years of putting celebrities like Claire Danes, Julianna Margulies, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in sexy, scuba-tight dresses have earned Narciso Rodriguez his rep as a maestro of fit. But sit down with him to discuss his clothes and it s apparent that fabric comes first. "I love working with the factories, with the fabric technicians," he says. Rodriguez put them to work for pre-fall, decolorizing silk to create rainbowlike ombré effects on a wrap top layered under a fitted tweed jacket, or laundering flannel to give an otherwise pulled-together sheath a lived-in effect.
The sheer black camisole that topped a washed rose jacquard dress riffed on the lingerie details of his hit Spring show. Playing the feminine against the masculine is the designer s MO this season, and it made for a surefooted, sellable outing. For every delicate slipdress, there was a sweeping leather trench; A-line skirts came paired with a boyish zip-front jacket or a peacoat. Speaking of outerwear, Rodriguez sourced what just might qualify as the world s softest, most cashmerelike wool. He cut it into a light gray-blue cardigan coat so plush you ll want to wear it as a bathrobe.
