Stella McCartney practices an optimistic, energetic kind of fashion, but Resort really brings out her sunny side. It s so persuasive that the rain clouds that lingered over New York for the better part of a week broke temporarily for her Elizabeth Street garden party last night. The theme was Cuba; stilt walkers, Latin dancers, and a slew of celebs from Lorne Michaels to Liv Tyler provided the Instagram moments. The money shot, though, was the quartet of models frolicking in McCartney s citrus-hued, ankle-grazing trapeze dresses. You couldn t have found a woman in the crowd who didn t want to be them, or at least look like that for a night. Tailored shirts that descended into sarong-style wraps—as short as the trapeze dresses were long—caught some of that beachy, summery magic. One corner of the garden was devoted to McCartney s florals. The English blooms, as she described them, decorated not just sundresses short and long, but more unexpectedly a navy blue pantsuit. Even the more masculine elements here maintained a certain whimsy factor. A lifelong rider, McCartney covered another pantsuit in a bold, allover horse print. Asymmetric, drapey lapels will give less extroverted types a new reason to add some SMcC tailoring to their closets.
