Most designers visit museums to find inspiration in Monets, Pollocks, or Picassos. For Pre-Fall, Elie Tahari was thinking about the outside of a museum—specifically, the new Renzo Piano-designed Whitney in downtown Manhattan. "I m always inspired by architecture, and I like the play of proportions in the building," said Tahari. "I was also thinking about its mixed materials." The concept came through quite literally in a few laser-cut pieces that resembled hundreds of windows on a skyscraper, as well as contrasting fabrics like nylon, leather, coated linen, and neoprene. While much of the fashion community has grown tired of scuba synthetics, Tahari is still very much on board; here, neoprene pencil dresses were featherweight and printed with blurred, Gerhard Richter-esque prints. They looked good, but the designer was most successful when he experimented with exotic skins such as supple suede, fluffy shearling, and lustrous pony hair. He admitted it s "a challenge" to reconcile Pre-Fall s seasonless, buy-now/wear-now demands, but those rich layers helped bridge the gap between leggy minis and cozy knits.
