Wayne Lee, lover of all things black and navy, pushed herself to use more color for this year s Wayne Resort effort. The designer was eager, she said, to climb out of the "dark, liquid-y pool of winter."
Lee jumped right in, offering a series of rainbow-bright frocks and separates that played nicely to her minimalist-with-a-flip aesthetic. A single-ruffle dress with cutout shoulders came in canary yellow, while a tennis dress was rendered in eye-popping fuchsia. A bi-level shirtdress in a subdued taupe had a yellow silk organza tutu peeking out from the bottom of its sculptural skirt, and a silk T-shirt got a graphic upgrade in color-blocked blue, yellow, and red with a jumbo-size strip of rickrack across the front. The season s print was a "reworked" bird-of-paradise flower, done in purples and oranges and an unexpected—and surprisingly welcome—leopard print. "It s a little whimsical and a little unpredictable," Lee said.
For those who prefer predictability, the designer offered more of her in-demand skorts—a style that is creeping up in popularity across the board—as well as a few key pieces in noncolors, including a charming minidress with a white strapless top and a little black skort.
The lineup worked so well because Lee accomplished exactly what she set out to do. "There s no distance between me and the collection," she said. "It really is me."
