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For spring 2004, Nanette Lepore
threw off the stifling shroud of doom and sent down the runway
one of the most effortlessly exuberant collections of the week
        
ABOVE:
Nanette Lepore.
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Nanette Lepore
WHILE OTHERS SEEM to be Johnnies-come-lately
in terms of realizing that women, above all else, desire feminine,
wearable clothing that has sophistication, Nanette Lepore has been
there all along mining the genre and reaping the benefits. Ms Lepore
is known for creating clothing that is richly embedded with feminine
style and fine detailing. According to her online bio, Ms Lepore
caught the designing bug at age nine when she outfitted a neighbour
in a ‘gypsy bedspread–dashiki with a beaded choker.’ After graduating
from Manhattan’s Fashion Institute of Technology, she was convinced
by her husband to go open her own business.
Of her business, she once opined, ‘I never had
big plans, and when I look back on it, I am amazed it all worked,
[that] it lasted [and] I stuck with it. Most of it is because I
am really, really stubborn. That’s how I’ve lasted, like 16 years
in business. It’s has been that long since it was a tiny boutique
to a three-person company. It just grew so slowly that it happens
and you don’t even realize it’s happening.’
Luckily for us and the women of America, Ms Lepore’s
designs struck a chord and very soon attracted a large, ever-increasing
fan club that includes numerous celebrities and regular customers
alike. While her fall 2003 collection was somewhat subdued (even
for her), for spring 2004, she threw off the stifling shroud of
doom and sent down the runway one of the most effortlessly exuberant
collections of the week. From her delightfully weightless shift
dresses and separates to her print jackets and cute cardigans, Ms
Lepore, once again, demonstrated why she is the true mistress of
summer dressing. There was something for every woman of any age.
If you are of the opinion that you couldn’t possible get away with
wearing her lime swirl shirtdress, then maybe her green keyhole
sweater paired with the corresponding lime print Capri pant is probably
more your style.
She also showed pieces that would work for the
slightly faint of heart. This includes her breezy white (embroidered)
flower strapless dress, several pieces in black-and-white ticking
fabrics and other mix-and-match designs that definitely can be reworked
to suit the individual customer’s style and taste.
To say that this collection was a success is an
understatement. Not to overstate the obvious, success breeds even
more success. She recently opened a freestanding Nanette Lepore
boutique in Los Angeles (what better way is there to keep an eye
on and serve the needs of her celebrity clientèle in Hollywood?)
and there are plans in the works to launch her first fragrance in
2004.
Cynthia Steffe
CYNTHIA STEFFE’S
spring 2004 collection is a smoothly executed mix of 1950s innocence
and 1970s sexually explosive energy. Taking her inspiration from
the 1950s’ Varga Girl, Ms Steffe mixed old with new, leather with
silk shantung, innocence with hard-edged sexuality.
CONTINUED
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