Word: blass
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...knockout, Armani's still the master, Montana was wild, Mugler was a kick, Saint Laurent is still the high priest, and what about these Japanese, anyway? America tends to a greater uniformity of style, mostly because of heavier commercial pressure from a larger market. So Bill Blass becomes classic, Ralph Lauren classic, Calvin Klein classic, Perry Ellis classic, and what about these Japanese, anyway? Orders are written, and stories filed, accordingly...
Nothing wrong with that, up to a point, and nothing wrong with the hero worship of fashion designers. They are every bit as deserving of celebrity as the celebrities they dress. One begins to wonder only when such fashion kings as Pierre Cardin, Givenchy, Bill Blass and Ralph Lauren bestow the knighthood of their labels on wines, automobiles, chocolates or home fashions. It merely makes these things fashionable, which is not enough. Caveat emptor. Enjoy the presumed prestige, but do not confuse high-priced celebrity labels with design...
...name-wear of haute couture. They produced a barbed, post-dinner skit, to the tune of Second Hand Rose, that featured such lines as "Secondhand dress/ Goodbye, you old worn-out mess/ I never wear a frock more than once/ Calvin Klein, Adolfo, Ralph Lauren and Bill Blass/ Ronald Reagan's mamma's going strictly first class." The ditty elicited rousing applause and, to the surprise of everyone, a bold, well-prepared rejoinder from the First Lady. As a garment rack was dramatically wheeled out from the wings, Nancy strode onstage-in a veritable riot of pantaloons, yellow...
...much to make women more beautiful," Armani says. "Saint Laurent broke with a certain 'chic' look of the past, which had become redundant, to produce something more youthful, more lively, more modern." Armani is also catholic enough to admire the giddiness of Kenzo, the classicism of Blass, the eccentricity of Karl Lagerfeld and the sidelong inspiration of Kamali...
Leather also lends itself to fine detailing. Armani's creations for Italy's Mario Valentino print, stripe and weave leather to resurrect a rich Renaissance look. Bill Blass also uses a weave effect on some blouses, and Ralph Lauren has put ruffles on suede in delicate peasant blouses. Says he: "Feathery-light blouses that once were made of cotton can now be done in suede. And it can mix with anything-silk, a sweater, tweeds, linen or cotton." The new leather, made ideally from the South African hair sheep, comes in starbursts of colors: fire-engine...