Daily Front Row

2011 September 28

Spring 2012: Dries Van Noten, Limi Feu

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Dries Van Noten Spring 2012
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(PARIS) Dries Van Noten
It began in Spring 2011: the Chinese ceramic references alongside nods to Belgium painter Jef Verheyen. Then it continued into Fall 2011 with David Bowie elements next to notes of the Ballet Russes. This season, Dries Van Noten’s dueling inspirations blossomed with postcard-worthy prints in two seemingly opposing landscapes—tropical getaways and urban skylines. Black and white waterfalls and earthy forest snapshots loaned themselves to simple shifts, knee-length skirts, and casual shorts. Later on, the lineup got an injection of color with a misty green jungle print dress avec bell sleeves or a classic skirt ‘n’ button-down combo festooned with pastel buds. By the end, our Van Noten fille had packed her bags and traveled home to her downtown hideaway in a white moto and dramatic black fishtail skirt scattered with city lights. Or a dark A-line coat sprinkled with precious gems in place of twinkling street lamps. At times, the dizzying hybrid of prints played out well, like in a slightly sheer patchwork blouse tucked inside a see-through black lace pencil skirt, but it wasn’t for tout. Pas de problème! There's plenty of monochrom, lace accented, separates to go around.

Limi Feu
What’s black, white, and haute all over? Limi Feu, for one. (No shock there.) But! Limi Yamamoto shook up her usually black and white-heavy collection with pops of cobalt blue, cherry red, and liquid gold for Spring. First to hit the catwalk: a duel-tone vest atop contrasting ring master-esque trousers. Equally as eye catching, if not more so, was the hand-held flag emblazoned with "Kids in Japan need your help for the future." Afterwards, in a surprising turn, the mood turned light and circus-like with red and black checkerboard dresses, flirty blue French schoolgirl uniforms, and cheeky gold jumpers reminiscent of throwback clown costumes. And we can't forget the spate of punky Limi touches like mismatched socks and Wicked Witch of the West striped tights, or the fresh-out-of-the-box Chucks and Gwen Stefani-style pompadours that elaborated on the whimsical theme.