NEW YORK FASHION WEEK SPRING-SUMMER 2009

NEW YORK, September 14, 2009 /FR/ - In oversize prints, intricate embroideries, graphic patterns, flowers were everywhere et New York Fashion Week for Spring and Summer 2009, as if they were the antidote to the  economic situation, which demands to be tackled  in a cheerful way. Many women will fight the grim of life next spring with Japanese inspired giant flowers and hippie chic prints.

This flower prints’ comeback may have seemed avant-garde at Paris Fashion Week for the Spring 2008 collections, particularly with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga and Dries van Noten heralding the movement last year. The trend is now confirmed and should be more pervasive next summer as New York Fashion Week designers seem to have favored this trend in their collections too, in a more commercial manner.

Hower, these vegetal patterns are of course interpreted differently by each designer. Vivienne Tam lets her chrysanthemums explode in nuances of pihk on a red background. Her oversize prints cover dresses and coats alike and the standout comes with an intricately pleated dress displaying on a delicate white base a giant Asian peony. Asian inspiration was also obvious in her delicately embroidered final dress… stunningly fresh and elegant!

Milly by Michelle Smith explores another connotation of flower power… the hippie chic trend is extremely clear in these djellabahs, which graphically evoke the colours of flowers in stylized streaks of bright colours organically put side to side.

Between these two marked extremes, other brands like Anna Sui prefer to treat the same theme in a more ethnic manner. Leifsdottir explores flowers with reinterpretations of vintage-like patterns. Badgley Mischka uses the same printed fabric on a bathing suit and an evening dress alike. Lela Rose daringly marries a purplish blue with a rusty red. Miss Sixty adds a more rock touch to a folk print.

One thing is certain for Spring 2009, flowers will not be happy with being seen only in your garden!

JEAN PAUL CAUVIN

All photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week