New York, Sept 22: Next spring will be bright and sunny, flowers will be out in full and women will be flirty and feminine if fashion designers have their way. The looks that filled the runways during fashion week in New York, a semi-annual extravaganza that ended on Friday (September 19), burst with florals and vivid splashes of colour.
Tommy Hilfiger unveiled his Spring 2004 collection. Hilfiger says his collection is about good times and optimism. Describing his style as a combination of preppy style with daring twists, Hilfiger's collection combines bright colours with whites, and juxtaposes prints with patterns. "It's about colour, it's about colour with white, it's about crisp, it's about clean, it's about cool, but it's about fun," said Hilfiger.

Hilfiger was asked where the inspiration behind his collection comes from.
"A mix, a blend and a melting pot of different sounds and different tastes from really all over the world brought into one place, one spot, which is what the clothes are all about," said Hilfiger.

Among the stars on hand at Hilfiger's show was rap artist and fellow designer Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs.
Ralph Lauren, who showed on Friday, mixed candy-like tones of peach, fuchsia, lilac and kiwi green in a sporty line of halter dresses, short skirts with pleats and sleek gowns inspired by the look of V-neck cable tennis sweaters.
Lauren describes his collection as the sexy side of athletics, using the vibrant palette of the tropics the elegance of the new ingenue. He said it combines athletic details with modern sophistication, with references to tennis, baseball, cricket and fencing all taking their turn to give the collection a playful charm.
Lemon, lime, melon and aqua lend brilliance to flirty shirts and to Spring's newest head to toe coloured suits.
Lauren says brilliant columns of colour define the new look of evening - alluring and dramatic.
Overall, critics said designers played it safe with their collections on display this week in New York. New York's Daily News summed up the clothes with the headline, "Beautiful but a bit boring" and complained there was "nothing new" on offer.
Looks were by and large feminine and frilly, with lace corsets at Tuleh and Diane von Furstenberg, ruffled skirts at Nicole Miller, floral chiffons at Marc Jacobs and body-hugging gowns at Narciso Rodriguez.
Bureau Report