![Fashion](../../images/fash-s.gif) ![Lucire spring-summer 2004](0126fe.gif)
In
this spring 2004 two-parter, Phillip D. Johnson looks at
the collections of some of New Yorks
finest: Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors,
Narciso Rodriguez, Luca Luca, Anna Sui, Vivienne Tam,
Carmen Marc Valvo, Douglas Hannant
and Yeohlee Teng
PHOTOGRAPHED BY CHERYL GORSKI
AND RICHARD SPIEGEL
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![](0126feas75.jpg) ![](0126feolr3.jpg) ![](0126feolr22.jpg)
TOP: Naomi Campbell in Anna Sui.
ABOVE: Oscar de la Renta.
The internal pressure they have placed upon themselves
to be the absolute very best has given rise to pre-conditioned high
expectations of perfect collections every season |
N
ONE’S EFFORT to achieve perfection,
it is entirely possible that one will find him or herself in a no-win
situation. To paraphrase a character on a recent JAG episode:
‘The problem with perfection is that when you demand it of yourself,
you’ll always be unsatisfied. If you demand it of others, you will
invariably end up being disappointed.’
Unfortunately, that is a sentiment we in the fashion
industry are very much acquainted with. Whether this pressure is
coming from the designer or from the industry, there are certain
designers whose reputations are such that we do expect perfect
collections every time. Cathy Horyn said it best in a review of
Ralph Lauren’s spring 2004 offering: ‘the problem with [Ralph Lauren]
being Ralph Lauren is that he invariably makes you demand more of
him’.
The same could be said of virtually all the top-tier,
influential designers of our time, which include such illustrious
names like Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, to
name just a few. The internal pressure they have placed upon themselves
to be the absolute very best has given rise to pre-conditioned high
expectations of perfect collections every season. Moreover, when
the results of their hard work fall short of the mark (something
that happens to the best of us), the profound disappointment reverberates
well beyond the stylish confines of the Bryant Park tents. Every
designer goes through periods of hills (when they can’t do anything
wrong) and valleys (when they can’t seem to do anything right).
The trick, one learns through trial and error, is to find a level
of consistent excellence and use that as a platform from which to
grow and advance in one’s craft.
The designers here have shown time and time again
that they have the talent, consistency and the sure (and steady)
hand in designing to not only be a credit to themselves, but a shining
beacon that young designers coming up behind them can emulate in
their own emerging careers. It isn’t always known what drives and
motivates people to succeed, but Oscar Wilde said it best in referring
to art: ‘It is through Art and through Art only that we can realize
our perfection; through Art and Art only that we can shield ourselves
from the sordid perils of actual existence.’
CONTINUED
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