Lady LUX

Sassy separates were a constant on Wednesday’s runways. Designers such as Douglas Hannant, Milly and Proenza Schouler showed off interesting combos of jackets, pants and skirts. However, the latter, Proenza, took the cake with her modern twist on the tweed jacket. No Chanel look-a-like, she mismatched colorfully threaded cropped jackets with printed skirts and silky tops. The monochromatic suit became a thing of the past, trading in the traditional blues, blacks and whites for a heathered army green or a bright coral. Even the simpler pieces, which featured ivory jackets and A-line skirts, kept to Proenza’s eccentric vein with unconventional shapes—completely open-neck jackets, padded shoulders and button-down skirts—begging the question, is Proenza reinventing the working woman?

Compared to last year’s spring show, Proenza’s team definitely took a sophisticated approach to spring. Their spring 2010 line, you may recall, was full of neon colors, too-short cocktail dresses and metallic minis. The models hit the runway in multicolored wedges, much flashier than this year’s work-appropriate pumps.

Designer Jack McCollough talked to Style.com backstage. “We wanted it to be a little more polished,” he told the web site.

His other-half, Lazaro Hernandez, added: “So we took all these feminine codes—the embroideries, the flowers—and mixed them up in our own way. We wanted to do something without any obvious references.”

Tagged in: trends, fashion, new york, new york, fashion week, tweed, knit, separates,

Fashion / Runway