Resort 2011 Collections

The series of imaginary colorful landscapes used as background in Miuccia Prada's resort presentation spoke to the traveling gypsy theme of Prada's collection, as did the vividly hued costume jewelry—oversize hoop earrings in yellow, green, and red and armfuls of lightweight glass bangles. The clothes, however, stood firmly in the polished eras of the '30s and '40s with wallpaper prints on calf-length dresses paired with fur stoles and structured handbags. Pumps with faux coral and beaded embellishments mixed with neutral platform sandals and backless flats with ballerina ribbons in a collection where accessories most definitely took center stage.

Vionnet creative director Rodolfo Paglialunga presented his fifth collection designing for Madeline Vionnet's namesake house, pairing his distinct shapes with some of the bias cut draping for which the French label is known. Paglialunga, who spent years at Prada before being snatched up by Mateo Marzotto—Vionnet's owner since early 2009—designed a collection of rounded hemmed and asymmetric dresses, some with sheer panels and cutouts at the shoulders. Having recently collaborated on a shoe collection with Giuseppe Zanotti and dressed a number of starlets for award seasons, Vionnet is poised to officially make her comeback, after years of trying, this fall.  

Los Angeles-based, Columbian-born designer Juan Carlos Obando presented a collection of ten resort looks this week to international buyers and press. The resort line, which will sell exclusively at Barneys in the U.S., consists of “pieces that together look very formal, but taken apart can be much more casual,” explained Obando. Building on his theme of distressed, worked-over fabrics (we especially loved the dirt-covered, dust bowl fabrications from his spring 2010 collection), Obando's luxe fabrics are treated with dyes, sanding, and washing. The resort collection has the kind of transformative powers one needs to see in pieces priced $900 to $3,100.

"All women want to be different," said Alber Elbaz at the close of his resort collection for Lanvin. According to his cruise lineup, they also want multifunctional fashion. Heavy on transformable pieces—a draped one-piece swimsuit doubles as a "robe de yacht" with the addition of a mini skirt and turns into a more evening appropriate dress when paired with a knee-length swing skirt. There were also reversible cocktail looks, which go from basic black sheaths to tulle and ruffle embellished chiffon dresses with one simple zip. Clearly Elbaz has been thinking of a modern girl and her many wardrobe needs.

Inspired by the gender-bending style of Frida Kahlo, Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci went for a mix of men's and women's wear in his resort 2011 collection. The Mexican painter surely would have fallen equally for Tisci's tuxedo coats and tailcoats (some covered in a bold leopard print) as the more feminine pleated skirts with lace details. A floor-length chiffon dress with graphic red stripes looks especially Frida-esque.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, and Helena Christensen sat front row at Stella McCartney's resort presentation and garden party at Gavin Brown's Enterprise in New York this week. Models posed in staged vignettes (a chess match, a photo shoot) and guests sipped margaritas to the tunes of a serenading a cappella group. McCartney's collection for resort, heavy on the botanical prints, was a perfect match for the surroundings—floral short suits, a colorful collection of mini cocktail looks, and the crisp tailored jackets (this season in salmon, azure, and white) for which the designer is known. Lace, another McCartney staple, looked fresh in a pair of navy shorts, a dusty rose top, and a long sleeved cocktail look in off-white

In her third season working with Opening Ceremony, Chloë Sevigny's design concept was focused on five dresses with five different prints. “These are prints that I always come back to,” said Sevigny. “It’s kind of a selfish collection, really.” The five looks—from Empire-waist shifts to baby doll dresses—are done in leopard, polka dot, paisley, houndstooth, or floral prints. In a series of mini collaborations within the Opening Ceremony collection, Sevigny also created t-shirts with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, boots with NaNa Shoes, sunglasses by Barton Perriera, and printed tights with Fogal.