Sonia Rykiel: Roses and Furs
By Mari Davis
(Photos by Javier Mateo)
PARIS, Mar 9, 2003/ FW/ --- Sonia Rykiel presented a playful Fall 2003 collection
featuring her signature knits sans the stripes.
It started formally with slim skirts and double breasted jackets.
It was followed by sweaters and tops with animal prints, as if the designer was
trying to appease PETA who has been active during the week.
After the animal prints came opulent fur coats and stoles.
And though the fur pieces look marvelous, the lowly safety pin stole the show.
Sonia Rykiel used over-sized safety pins for ruching and gathering the fabric,
giving the garment volume and shape.
The silhouette remained slim, in fact, it was body-hugging. But the artful placement
of the over-sized safety pin gave it piazzaz.
It was not the only instance that the designer broke new grounds in fashion.
The pink spaghetti-strap dress, paired with a pink boa had inverted seams. But
instead of looking like it was unfinished and raw, the resulting effect was
sartorial elegance.
My favorite piece was the black strapless top and micro-mini bottom embellished with
Swarovski crystals worn with a knitted body-hugging pants.
This will surely be a favorite among the twenty-something and thirty-something crowd
for a night out in town.
To close the show, Sonia Rykiel sent the models wearing sorbet colored shirts with
huge cabbage roses.
Whether it was a political statement for peace, or just to remind the audience of the
late 1960s and early 1960s peace movement with flower power, I will never know.
But with the current war fears, it was a nice gesture as a cry for peace.
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