Latex, leather, and lace — three materials that can easily conjure tawdry images when left to their own devices — were made impressively pretty in Oscar de la Renta's Spring 2013 collection.
There was a definite '60s feel to this offering, created by nipped-in waists, full skirts, bateau necklines, and three-quarter-length sleeves on jackets, sweaters, and cardigans. (Erika Bearman, de la Renta's public relations chief, tweeted that the models' neon-streaked beehive hairdos were very "breakfast @ tiffanys meets daphne guinness.") A mustard-colored macramé cardigan was paired with a sleeveless ruffled top in a brighter yellow that got tucked into a high-waisted pencil skirt made from tiers of plaid. Later on, a sweet pink tweed skirt was paired with a lacy top belted at the waist. Betty Draper — or any real or fictional Junior Leaguer of her era — wouldn't have felt out of place in the blue tweed cardigan trimmed in white leather.
A blue-green latex skirt and tank top, on the other hand, were a different story. Those edgier garments were tied to the show's overall feeling by being stowed underneath a cardigan covered with little green beads. An otherwise demure white suit jacket and shift dress were decorated with unexpected black graffiti squiggles.
De la Renta merged that youthful attitude with his established elegance through his eveningwear section. A sparkly strapless number in dove gray and a navy-and-white-striped gown with a full skirt will undoubtedly speak to women of all ages.
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