Torrente - A Fresh, New Look
By: Timothy Hagy
Photos by Javier Mateo
PARIS, Oct 4, 2002/ FW/ --- On Wednesday, the stock market plunged nearly 300 points, and
in a sign of the times, that fact was not even headline news. The routine has become so
mundane that it hardly bears mention that investments have lost around 40% of their value
since January.
And yet, in both good times and bad, the world's fashion press assembles for the biannual
event known as the Paris Ready-To-Wear shows.
So on Thursday morning, Torrente opened the Spring / Summer 2003 season with a show staged
in an elegant second-floor stateroom in their headquarters located off the Champs Elysées.
Outside of open French windows, towering chestnut trees browned in an autumnal ritual.
And for all of the signs of normalcy, a shiver of nervousness blew in with the October breeze,
for the Luxury industry is one of the hardest hit by the current economic downturn.
That aside, the House of Torrente is in the midst of a rapid expansion, opening boutiques
in Paris and Province in rapid succession, and in contrast with the Haute Couture line,
unveiled a very wearable and very sleek collection.
There were fitted suits with a casual elegance to them that screamed urban chic, while
light day dresses of gossamer chiffon floated down the runway.
For evening, silky black dresses, some sequined, some worn with short skirts dominated
the collection.
Perhaps in this risky climate, safety is the best route to take, and certainly the
collection ran the full gamut, thereby insuring something for every taste.
And yet, Rosette Torrente-Mett took some rather adventuresome turns as well, as in an
innovative leather blouse that pealed back like tulip petals, or in the over-sized scalloped
belts worn atop dresses and skirts, or even in a stunning blouse ornamented with flowers in
silk and lace.
Her palette of colors remained rather somber, dominated by black and midnight blue, though
came alive from time to time with pink and pale peach.
Whites were omnipresent, as were neutral tones of brown and beige.
The pure, soft lines, as well as the subtlety of detail were evident of a fresh new look,
and combined to create a hymn of seduction that transcends these troubled times.
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