The strength of Tadashi Shoji’s glamorous collection was more sensual, less sizzle. Cocktail dresses and gowns with blouson tops, Watteau backs and dropped waists covered more than they bared and moved gracefully over the body. Looks both long and short were shown in bonded lace, paisley printed gazar and cut or washed velvets — some with beaded insets and leather belts — and were a testament to the designer’s terrific restraint.
Check out all of our images and our full review after the break.
Before the lights even dimmed and the seats had been filled by eager attendees, enthusiasm still at full mast on the first day of Fashion Week, we took note of the blue floral lights and low-key instrumental music playing inside the tent. Nail salon or Lincoln Center? Surely, we would be in for a muted display for spring. Well, this was hardly a chill undertaking.
The lights shifted, and a heavier soundtrack reminded us why we look forward to these shows: the pageantry, the emotion, the display of someone’s talent and hardwork. Call us sentimental, but we look just a little bit of drama to kick things off. Sure, Shoji’s ethereally-minded gowns were by no means as, let’s say, intense as a Betsey Johnson parade of minidresses, but the strapless sheer numbers were just evocative in their own way. Tadashi Shoji designs for a lady, a confident woman, nothing demure about her. Get out of here, wallflowers. You’d be hardpressed to stay in the background in the babydoll dresses (paging Alexa Chung!) and layered tulle numbers.
While Beach Music and Sigur Ros, often toned down and restrained, swelled to emotive keys, the models, in modified Bardot ponytails, walked out in tulles, laces, blues, blacks, and pinks. We don’t see our lives going in the direction where we can snag some of these stunners for our own personal cocktail parties, so we ardently hope Tadashi Shoji’s gowns will be crowding the red carpets en masse soon enough.
The Japanese designer, who has dressed Florence Welsh, Octavia Spencer, and Fan Bingbing on the red carpet, sent a vibrantly colored collection of dresses down the runway for his spring 2013 collection. Embroidered lace, printed chiffon, and silk georgette took a playful turn—a tribute to the colors seen around the globe from Venice to Kazakhstan.
Backstage post-show, we chatted with Shoji about his affinity for lace this season. Asked why every woman should own a lace dress, the designer replied: “It’s easy to take care of. Nowadays, at least. Lace as a fabric is so light, and it’s feminine.”
See our full gallery after the break.