The fact that the air-conditioning konked out at her show added a touch of irony to Clare Waight Keller s pleasant if somewhat lackluster Pringle collection, inspired as it was by David Hockney s swimming-pool paintings. "I wanted a bit of escapism," she said backstage. "She s a sexier girl, and confident, but it s still easy." Playing on the company s heritage of knits, Waight Keller rethought the twinset (invented by the Scottish house in the thirties) as a knee-skimming cardigan and matching tank dress with ruffles cascading down the front. She remade the heavy-gauge cable sweater, too, transforming it into a viable summer option by knitting it so loosely that from a distance it looked like lace. Cotton dresses tucked and folded origami-style at the neckline and the waist came decorated with brushstroke prints in cobalt and turquoise, while simple white shifts were densely embroidered in black, blue, and gray for a 3-D effect. A boyishly offhand touch was added by engineer-stripe Henleys, cardigans, and full-cropped pants—but elsewhere the embellishments were a bit overwrought. As cool as the blues were and as light and transparent as the gauzy knits looked, they couldn t stir the air in the room, nor did they rouse much of a reaction from the crowd.
