Sitbon's Sellable Chic
By Karl Treacy
Photos by Gruber-FWD
PARIS, Oct 8, 2002/ FWD/ --- From the first model on the runway to the last exit,
buyers attending Martine Sitbon’s Spring 2003 show must have been exhaling satisfied sighs
of relief.
And if they weren’t they should have been, for the collection that Sitbon sent out Sunday
afternoon - interspersed with great men’s looks - could have been shipped to stores as is.
Sitbon’s ease with construction and detail produced clothes with a spirit of antique lingerie
and corsetry "but in a freer, lighter way," as Sitbon told FWD.
This translated into something as simple as a nude silk dress with gold sequins outlining
where foundation seaming would be or curving seams over the hips on a shirt so that the
fabric hanging below swishes flirtily.
With a basic palette of nude, sand and gray Sitbon used striped bands to discreetly dramatic
effect outlining and suggesting curves and as soft harness that straddled the upper chest
from shoulder to shoulder.
Despite the sexy references nothing was actually on view.
Dresses and skirts fluttered around the knee and if they were shorter were acceptably so,
and instead of going down a peek-a-boo path of sheer panels the designer’s glossy satin
inserts played fabrics and textures against each other.
If you must show some skin, then show a sensually bared shoulder peeping out of a light
belted tuxedo jacket with sleeves attached by hook-and-eye.
|
