New York: Keep it short and sweet.
Hemlines are headed up, way up, in fashions for spring and summer 2010 that appeared on catwalks this week in New York where top designers gathered for a semi-annual array of shows.
"I've never seen so much leg in my life," said designer Stan Herman, former head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. "I wonder if everybody wants to save fabric."
Among the most prevalent were bandage mini skirts -- tightly wound strips of fabric -- by designers Tadashi Shoji, Yigal Azrouel, Cynthia Steffe and Monarchy. Herve Leger by Max Azria created bandage dresses of denim.
Other minis had flounce and flare, such as skirts by Michael Angel and dresses by Adam Lippes.
For sweet, there were flowers galore -- romantic florals by Cynthia Steffe and Rebecca Taylor, vivid florals by Dennis Basso, dappled prints by Nanette Lepore, washed watercolors by Tracy Reese and sunflower, daisy and tulip prints by Anna Sui.
Others like designer Nichola K created paint-splattered prints evocative of Jackson Pollock paintings.
The seaside was a frequent theme. Derek Lam showed playful sunsuits and halter dresses, Lela Rose used hues of sea glass blue and grass green and Nicole Miller used swirls of blues and blacks in a print she called riptide.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, September 19, 2009, 17:57