The New Fashion Commandments

“If you don’t have velvet in your closet this season, don’t go out of the house!” Such was the daunting command that Neiman Marcus fashion director Ken Downing delivered to a bevy of fashionistas who packed the second floor of Neiman Marcus in the Houston Galleria to absorb his take on current fashion trends.

And the ladies lapped it up like kittens at the milk bowl.

With an insider’s intel and a comedic wit, Downing challenged the flock to think beyond yesterday into this season’s fashion trends. Yes, velvet is a must. Shoulder pads are coming back, bigger than ever thanks to Balenciaga. True fashionistas will be dressed in red this season. And bare legs are no longer de rigueur.

“I spent my entire career trying to get you out of stockings,” he declared. “Now I want you back in stockings!” Indeed, practically every look that he presented included wide diamond fishnets, many in pink and red.

Downing waltzed his adoring fans through a colorful array of fashions playfully layered beyond reason. An example of the look: an Altuzarra jacket, over a Magda Butrym floral dress, worn with a Needle and Thread pink dress.

As for the color of the season, “I am obsessed with the rich reds,” he said. “I like bordeaux and burgundy juxtaposed with bright red and shocking pink.” Lending reality to that obsession, Downing mixed a wild palette of reds in his designer selections.

Special guest was his pal, jewelry designer Devon Leigh, whose oversized earrings were shown with every look. As Downing noted, “Big earrings take 10 years off of every woman.”

Additional Ken Downing fashion insights

— It’s all about the ’80s, a return to that new wave spirit.

— Asymmetrical earrings are the thing, be it wearing only one major piece or two different earrings.

—Shorts are everywhere going into spring.

— Biker jackets are a must.

— Saint Laurent hoodies are bringing street fashion into the designer world.