Rock ‘n’ Roll Royalty Kids, The Great Mosque and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Incredible Smile
Oscar de la Renta's New York Fashion Week Show Brings the Joy
BY Clifford Pugh // 02.24.19Bella Hadid closes the Oscar de la Renta runway show in a black velvet and tulle evening gown embellished with arabesque geometric tessellations. (Photo by Courtesy of Oscar de la Renta)
NEW YORK — Since assuming the role of chief designers at Oscar de la Renta, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia have strived to balance a flair for the new with a respect for the storied tradition of the founder, who passed away five years ago. In their fall collection, presented at New York Fashion Week, they appear to have landed on the right combination.
The collection, which continues the design duo’s love affair with southern Spain and Morocco, includes some overly embellished pieces and eye-popping jacquards in keeping with the opulent de la Renta style, along with big-skirted ball gowns that have been a mainstay of the brand.
But, recognizing that women dress differently nowadays, Oscar de la Renta mixed in a lot of sharply tailored separates in menswear fabrics and spicy colors styled for a younger audience. A Glenplaid short coat features a matching bralette, jackets are cropped to show the midriff, and high-waist pants are dotted with enamel buttons at the cuff.
For evening, the duo offer a variety of styles in fabrics ranging from quilted satin to silk chiffon and velvet tulle. There are a number of short, body-hugging cocktail dresses made of taffeta or ostrich feathers (some are short in the front and long in the back), lace tea-length dresses and several long gowns with thigh-high slits that show a lot of leg.
Several of the nighttime looks have fringe detail or antique carpet print designs, indicating the influence of the southern Mediterranean for the second season in a row. (The current Oscar de la Renta spring collection was also influenced by the region, with fringe-trimmed skirts, poplin peasant blouses, hooded caftans and Ikat print dress.)
To showcased the fall collection in the ornate Cunard Building on Wall Street, models walked in a circular pattern amid a number of arches inspired by the Great Mosque of Córdoba, Spain, one of the oldest structures from the time of Islamic rule that ended in 1492. The theme was reflected in a black evening gown that model Gigi Hadid wore to close the show.
It had the grand appearance of classic de la Renta, with a large ballgown skirt, but reflects the world view of Kim and Garcia, who embellished the top of the gown with a bustier in arabesque geometric tessellations.
Looking on from the front row were Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has one of the best smiles of any person living, Stranger Things co-star Natalie Dyer, sisters Paris Hilton and Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and a pair of children of rock ‘n’ roll royalty — Theodora Richards, the daughter or Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and model Patti Hanson, and Lucas Jagger, the son of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger.