Bill Blass
REVIEW
COMPLETE COLLECTION
NEW YORK, February 8, 2005
By Laird Borrelli
The mood at a Bill Blass show is traditionally one of uptown appropriateness. But for fall, both the guest list (Janet Jackson and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, suggesting all kinds of wardrobe-malfunction scenarios) and the soundtrack (heavy on the Scissor Sisters) indicated that Michael Vollbracht was heading in a new direction.Backstage, Vollbracht's muse, Karen Bjornson, spoke about the collection's shorter, more youthful proportions, and the designer extolled the virtues of his "narrow and long" silhouette, which were evident in the strong opening segment—a natty (rainbow) pinstripe suit and trim snakeskin pieces were particularly strong. One of Vollbracht's white cashmere toggle coats would look great on a stroll up Museum Mile, especially if accessorized with one of Carlos Falchi's big Mongolian bags, which added zip to tweedy daytime looks. Evening highlights included a short, beaded black slip dress, a full-skirt LBD with V-neck and bows at the hip, and a long, crepe silk gown with embroidered bodice.
There were, however, a lot of misses along the way: Karen Elson, in a gazar shirt and taffeta ball skirt of epic proportions, looked like a character who had strayed from the pages of a fifties etiquette book. And, with no consistency of ornamentation, the finale seemed aimless—a dress parade in search of a theme, like characters in search of an author.
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Fall 2005 Ready-to-Wear
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A.F. Vandevorst Akris Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Alexandre Herchcovitch Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Aquascutum As Four -
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Balenciaga Basso & Brooke BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Bill Blass Bottega Veneta Boudicca Bruno Pieters Burberry Prorsum -
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Calvin Klein Collection Carolina Herrera Celine Chado Ralph Rucci Chaiken Chloé Christian Dior Christian Lacroix Clements Ribeiro Comme des Garçons Costello Tagliapietra Costume National -
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D&G Daryl K Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
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Eleykishimoto Ellesse Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Etro -
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Fendi -
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Gardem Giambattista Valli Giles Giorgio Armani Gucci -
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Habitual Hermès Hussein Chalayan -
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Imitation of Christ -
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J. Mendel Jasmin Shokrian Jean Paul Gaultier Jeffrey Chow Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Junya Watanabe -
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Kenneth Cole New York Kenzo -
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Lagerfeld Gallery Lanvin Lela Rose Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
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Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs Marni Martin Grant Matthew Williamson MaxMara Menichetti Michael Kors Missoni Miu Miu Monique Lhuillier Moschino -
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Narciso Rodriguez Nina Donis Nina Ricci -
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Oscar de la Renta -
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Paco Rabanne Paul Smith Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Pollini Prada Preen Proenza Schouler -
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Ralph Lauren Riccardo Tisci Richard Chai Love Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Roland Mouret -
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Sari Gueron Sinha-Stanic Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Sweetface -
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Temperley London Tess Giberson Thakoon Tsumori Chisato Tuleh -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Versace Viktor & Rolf -
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Wunderkind -
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Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo