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The House of Field customer
is a fearless, take-no-prisoner kind of a woman and this collection
(with its ’70s undertones) was an homage to all things edgy
        
ABOVE ROW:
House of Diehl (photographed by Phillip D. Johnson). OTHER
PHOTOGRAPHS: House of Field.
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But Mr Montano’s talent shone the brightest in
his ‘First Holy Communion Dresses’ section. Here, every single design
was beyond beautiful. Who would be able to resist a woman wearing
his elegant Metropolitan Opera House-ready shirred bias-cut ‘Peace
Be with You’ white silk dress? Or his ‘Catycism’ white silk A-line
dress? They had just enough elements of both Park Avenue–Upper East
Side and the Union Square–St Mark’s Place æsthetic to be a
hit in both locations and beyond.
Of course, each design came down the runway accessorized
with gold jewellery, be it a necklace, bracelet, earring or armband.
Styled by Shaye Strager, all the pieces blended in quite nicely
with the stated theme, without overpowering Mr Montano’s designs.
David Dalrymple for the House of Field
AGAINST A BACKDROP of sparkling
hubcaps (hanging from a fence), David Dalrymple, creative director
for Patricia Field’s House of Field design house, sent down the
runway at the Absolut show space what could only be described as
a girl-gone-bad-and-getting-wilder collection. Given what we already
know about Ms Field, it is to be expected that one would not see
ladies-who-lunch suits and pretty sun frocks.
The average House of Field customer is a fearless,
take-no-prisoner kind of a woman and, consequently, this collection
(with its ’70s undertones) was an homage to all things edgy. Starting
with the Jane Fonda shag wigs (from her role in the movie, Klute);
this was a palate-cleansing antidote to all the pretty-pretty designs
that we saw all week. I was particularly intrigued by the tightly
wrapped, Herve Leger bondage dresses and the distressed black denim
pieces that were shown at the top of the show. A highlight here
was the black bandage–bondage mini that seems tailor-made for Christina
Aguilera as she continues her evolution into music’s foremost dirty
pretty girl. The black distressed skeleton shrunken jacket and pant
paired that opened the show also had that Blade Runner–Fifth
Element aura, further adding to the bad-girl overtones. Throughout
the entire presentation, Mr Dalrymple threw into the mix unexpected
"soft" pieces such as a demure black baby doll (with a
handkerchief hemline) but kept it real by pairing it with a Joan
Jett–rock ’n’ roll black laminated fishnet pant. Other mixture of
hard and soft elements would also have to include his white sock
reconstructed halter top paired with a black distressed mini-kilt
and tough girl stiletto heels.
Mr Dalrymple and Ms Field are individuals who
march to the beat of their own drums. They see no reason to imitate
others, taking their design cues from their own world. As Ms Field
closes out her tenure as the lead costume designer on HBO’s
Sex and the City, maybe there will be more time in her schedule
to help Mr Dalrymple in his efforts to push the line forward. After
such a successful effort for spring, it would be a shame to stop
here and become stagnant.
House of Diehl
YOU KNOW there was a mad queen
at work when the first person you see at the start of a fashion
show is the infamous downtown "girl-about-town" Amanda
Le Pore in a bizarre interpretation of the Virgin Mary. (In this
instance, however, one could say that the whole "royal court"
was a couple sandwiches short of a combination platter.)
CONTINUED
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