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Behnaz Sarafpour
LAST SEASON, Behnaz Sarafpour took
a walk on the wild side and left an imprint on my psyche. It was
as if I had personally unearthed a buried treasure, a true diamond
hidden among a pile of cubic zirconium. Well, we all know I didn’t
discover her but hers were one of the shows I felt was a cannot-miss
on my show week schedule—and she delivered once again. Not
one to stand still and allow others to define her, Ms Sarafpour
eschewed her spring quasi-bondage vixen look for one that was soft,
far less strident and guaranteed to bring out the sweet but sophisticated
side of her customers. Ms Sarafpour's designs—whatever the season
and direction in which she takes us—have all the qualities of inconspicuous
chic; her collections are an effortless mix of romanticism (it’s
not for nothing that she is known for her sweet lace work and slightly
ethereal designs) tempered by the modern age.
This season, however, there was a lot less retro
sweetness and a clear and focused emphasis on the modern, which
is not at all a bad thing. We all got the memo when she opened her
show with a model wearing a crisp charcoal wool trench coat over
a blue flower print pleated skirt and white silk shirt combo. She
then followed this look with a series of pleated skirts and fitted
pants paired with cashmere cardigan sweaters and other tops. The
simplicity of her designs here, the aura of unforced beauty truly
took them to the next level. I was quite taken with her coats, with
the plaid balmacaan being particular lovely. Her sure hand was also
represented in her butterfly print swing dress with the black lace
"butterfly" cut-out detailing in the back. Her handling
of the fur pieces (sponsored by Saga Fur) in the collection was
nothing short of near mastery. She went from a blue fox jacket (paired
with a white silk shirt and pale grey stretch tweed pant) to a daring
white fringed mink cape (over a cream satin mermaid dress) without
missing a beat.
Her evening pieces weren’t as fully formed as
her daywear pieces, but she gets extra points for getting most of
it right. I thought her nude satin butterfly evening dress (later
seen on Ivanka Trump at the Costume Institute’s Gala Benefit in
April) and her charcoal satin mermaid halter front gown were lovely
and a clear sign of better things to come.
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