DESIGNERS 2015 RESORT COLLECTIONS

Zuhair Murad

By Tina Isaac-Goizé

For nearly twenty years, Zuhair Murad signature has been the kind of lavishly sequined, "tattoo beaded" high evening dresses that make big waves in places like Cannes. This year, the 40-year-old designer scored photo ops on three major French starlets, and Petra Nemcova donned an elaborate gown that, by the designer's own reckoning, probably added more than 20 pounds to her frame. Not that his girls complain: Women who live that level of glamour are keen enough to step out in Murad's creations. They likely don't even notice.

Given that he's got nighttime wrapped, Murad has been exploring daywear of late, with more prints, more color, and more casual options like T-shirts and trousers. Nearly half the looks in the collection were for day (or day-to-night). The challenge Murad gave himself, he said, was tackling "safari chic" in a new way. "When you say safari, it's not ordinarily a very sexy, glamorous theme," he explained. Rather than go literal with the usual big-game prints, he incorporated his signature transparency—chiffon, mesh, lace—onto khaki ramier shirtdresses with a touch of military about them. Colonial inspirations followed, with African motifs extrapolated into graphic zigzag triangles stitched onto numbers that, while beaded, nonetheless managed to appear pared-back. It wasn't Out of Africa, but any safari offers up a pulse-racing moment or two, and on that count Murad delivered.

Zuhair Murad

Resort 2015

3.1 Phillip Lim

By Maya Singer

Designers have been plundering the looks of decades past for a while now; you can even predict when the next wave of sixties mod or fifties wasp waists will wash ashore. A seventies revival was due, and Phillip Lim is one of the designers bringing it about this season. The take at 3.1 Phillip Lim had an intriguing looseness—Lim didn't hew to any one particular reference. Instead, he drew on a mishmash of seventies-esque motifs, and gave them a twist and an update. There was something honest about that method, as though Lim had plucked at loose strands of memory. Take the wave-like hemlines here, magnified versions of that Brady Bunch-tastic rickrack trim. Or consider the flourish of brown suede, the nods to shell suits, or the short A-line skirts and plunge-collar dresses redolent of Jane Fonda looks in Klute. There was also a strong influence from YSL's Safari collection, a reference Lim used in a particularly interesting (and sales-friendly) way. Sand-toned pieces such as a lean belted coat and wide-leg trousers were done in a technical material with a linen-like feel; these pieces conjured the seventies vibe nicely, but they had a very modern weight and structure. The same was true of Lim's jacquards, done in a digitized, magnified snake print. The best thing about this collection, though, was that Lim was working close to the body—the only exceptions, really, being the A-line shifts, the least successful pieces here. A trim pair of trousers with a touch of flare, a flat leather jacket in yellow, a little ruffle-hem minidress in that linen-like technical fabric—these looks, and others, found Lim moving on from his recent obsession with oversizing. How funny that sometimes in order to move forward, you have to look back.

3.1 Phillip Lim

Resort 2015

Fendi

By Tim Blanks

What Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi have done with that huge fur ball of luxury and tradition beggars description. Primal barbarism meshes with decadent sophistication, palazzo and gutter fuse in one elusive but alluring package. Credit Rome, as anyone who's seen The Great Beauty, winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, will recognize. "Fendi Roma," read the new labels, as the business places a greater emphasis than ever on its roots. For the new Resort collection, Lagerfeld revisited a motif from 1988 and spread a little "Fendi Roma" graffiti around. It was the most visible expression of a hyper-sporty thread: cropped, rah-rah short, lean, piped, meshed. A bra and trackies combo was paired with a little white mink bomber, with sleeves in a mink mesh. A motocross jacket, banded in racing checks, topped a skirt in perforated black leather that was decorated with discs of orange shearling, like 3-D polka dots. It was a technological feat, for sure, but it was also as playful as a plushie.

That's one of the most appealing things about Fendi. Its artisans are capable of ne plus ultra craftsmanship, but the hand is lighter than ever. Just look at Fendi twenty-five years ago to fully appreciate the evolution. Back then, "capital L" luxury was queen. Now, nothing is sacred, and all the better for it. On Fendi's Fall catwalk, the sprays of fresh orchids pinned to fur were a romantic, surprisingly soulful flourish. Here, the orchids came back as splintered, abstracted, exploded floral motifs, inlaid on fur, embroidered on a mohair tank, or as a ghostly print on pale pink silk organza. The abiding impression was urban energy—a lot of it.

And yet the most striking piece in the collection was the quietest. A strappy shift in navy-trimmed black flared at the back into tiers of pleats. Yes, there was energy in their movement, but it was more the masterful construction that stood out. You mightn't look first at such an outfit, but you'd look longest. So you can add that dress to the list of Rome's enduring fascinations.

Fendi

Resort 2015

Thom Browne

By Maya Singer

"You know those really ugly gerbera daisy floral arrangements they sell at the deli? You know how you see those and wonder, Who buys those? Well, I bought them." Thus did Thom Browne explain the genesis of his expansive, posy-filled collection. Browne elaborated on his floral theme in every way he could think of, creating flowery prints, hand-painted knits, and dense silk jacquards, not to mention a variety of three-dimensional floral embroideries that were a highlight of the collection. A jacket covered in multicolor crocheted flowers was truly extraordinary, and a black-and-white silk sheath, constructed from flat panels, got a jolt of sweetness from fluttery floral appliqué. The latter was a relatively pared-down look; in general, Browne's proposition was to mix up his exuberant florals as much as possible. It wasn't wall-to-wall botany, though. Other collection standouts were the mid-weight tweeds, in particular the cotton version in signature Thom Browne red-white-and-blue tones knitted into a fitted jacket and matching pleated skirt. There was quite a bit to like here, in fact—even a woman wary of Browne's eccentricities would find it hard to miss the appeal of a high-waisted A-line skirt in a gaudy floral silk jacquard. Browne showed that piece with a hand-painted floral polo and a navy jacket in a different, multicolor floral print. But he's a fan of muchness. One wonders what might happen if he took inspiration from the bodega cat.

Thom Browne

Resort 2015

Prabal Gurung

By Nicole Phelps

Prabal Gurung said he approached his striking new Resort collection as if it was a "one-stop shop from morning to evening." The idea, he explained, was prompted by all the traveling he's been doing to trunk shows in places as far-flung as Singapore and Toronto. It's smart business to listen to customers' needs, but if Gurung embraced practicality, he didn't abandon his creative side.

Inspired by a show of the British artist Matthew Stone's work at The Hole gallery, the designer covered just about every surface in the wide-ranging collection—from tees and sweatshirts to floor-length gala dresses—with prints or jacquards designed to evoke Stone's brushstrokes. The prints and jacquards came in vivid shades of red or blue, sometimes mingled together, and they turned the clothes into moving canvases. Color-blocking likewise gave chunky sweaters and cotton shirtdresses a bold look. Gurung added panels of black stretch into the waistband of a tweed sheath not just for graphic appeal, but also for shaping purposes—a customer request handled with confident panache. Speaking of panache, a pantsuit, its jacket lapel-less save for a sharp ruffle from buttonhole to hem, had flair to spare. The fact that it was navy made it stand out all the more amid the sea of prints; the same went for a strapless cocktail dress topped by an upper-arm-covering capelet in the same shade of midnight blue jacquard.

Prabal Gurung

Resort 2015