Paula Hian: Modern Retro Chic
By Mari Davis
Photos by Visko Hatfield
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Mar 25, 2002/ FW/ --- Now that the Oscars are over, it's back to going through the
photographs that came in for New York Fashion Week.
Paula Hian's collection caught my eye immediately and I had to ask myself why I allowed
it to sit on my desk for a long time.
Philadelphia designer Paula Hian's Fall 2002 collection is sleek and modern, with a
rawness that makes it stand out.
Opening with cigarette pants in reddish chocolate with short cropped "ribbed" long-sleeve
top finished off with an Edwardian style bow.
Call it "modern retro chic." Paula Hian has found the balance between taking ideas
from the past and making it modern and contemporary.
The 1960s influence is there, but it is not dated. It is Paula Hian - modernistic with a
retro feel.
Using a pallette of red, white, black and chocolate, the designer sent miniskirts, off
the shoulder tops, again in "ribbed" pattern, either horizontal or vertical.
She had an innovative approach with "strings." Made from leather strips or fabric, the
"strings" were used to embellish the outfit.
Used as part of the belt and collar or just added to the dress, Paula Hian made them
an integral part of the design.
Some of it became repeatitive towards the end, but when you have a good thing going,
you tend to stick with it.
Though I cannot say that some of these clothes will end up in the Oscars, it will be safe
to say that chances are you will see them on a TV sitcom like Suddenly Susan.
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