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She opened the show with a white harnessed Varga
Girl dress, and it was off to the races. Along the way, she did
quasi-kinky ladies-who-lunch (white strapped-bodice tunic over white
Bermuda shorts), sweet, Seven Sisters College innocence (a white
embroidered sweetheart blouse with a Mary Jane rounded collar paired
with a man-tailored pant), rock ’n’ roll baby (three-quarter sleeve
boned blazer over white lizard garter-seamed pants), giggly girly-girly
(a sexy, striped Marilyn Monroe dress), "sex secretary"
(powder pink cap-sleeve sweater paired with a gray pinstripe tucked
pegged pencil skirt) and a quick homage to the baby-doll look (a
paillette-bodiced watercolour baby-doll dress).
I thought her gray pinstripe shrunken bomber jacket
over a black dotted chiffon camisole and paired with a pinstriped
man-tailored pant was very much evocative of the 1970s, with the
look harkening back to Bianca Jagger and other Studio 54 types.
Other noteworthy designs includes her tucked bodice dance dress,
the black triangle-back disco dress with its pleated side detailing,
and a beautiful black hand-crocheted shrunken cardigan over a racer
back top and paired with an eyelet layered swing skirt. While the
inspiration came from the past, the execution was all modern. She
used very beautiful fabrics and incorporated many modern design
techniques within her designs, thus allowing the collection to soar
to new heights. Ms Steffe’s name is often mentioned among as one
of the leading contenders among Seventh Avenue’s next generation
of star designers; and it’s a distinction that is richly deserved.
Rebecca Taylor
NEW ZEALAND NATIVE Rebecca Taylor’s
star shined that much brighter this past September. The Wellington
Polytechnic (now Massey University) graduate is already known for
her sexy, feminine and flirty designs (and an individualistic colour
sense) that are heavily influenced by the ’60s and ’70s, and the
world of art and music. The 2000 Perry Ellis Young Designer nominee’s
fans and long-time clients include respected actresses Cameron Diaz,
Ashley Judd, Julia Stiles, Academy Award winner Anna Paquin (The
Piano), Minnie Driver, Emmy Award winner Christina Applegate
(Married with Children) and Golden Globe winner Keri Russell
(Felicity), to name only a few. Her clothing collections,
sold at Rebecca Taylor stores in Japan and in all major department
stores and top specialty boutiques in the Unites States, London,
China, Taiwan, and Ontario, Canada, consistently do bang-up business,
something that is sure to continue when this spring 2004 collection
hits the racks in late winter–early spring.
Her spring 2004 collection was influenced by ‘the
sparkling iridescence of the New Zealand ocean and the magical aura
that radiates from the islands’, which resulted in a stunningly
visual, grown-up, girly-girl collection. Although the show was held
in the Coral Room, a wet, dank club space, one was still able to
fully appreciate Ms Taylor’s efforts and talent. CONTINUED
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Rebecca Taylor consistently
does bang-up business, something that is sure to continue when this
spring 2004 collection hits the racks in late winter–early spring
  
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| TOP ROW:
Nanette Lepore spring 2004. ABOVE
AND LEFT: Rebecca Taylor spring 2004, inspired by
the luminescence of the Pacific Ocean around New Zealand.
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