Front Row

Nanette Lepore Spring 2014

Collages122Nanette Lepore gave herself a challenge for her spring 2014 collection. She wanted to redefine romanticism. Her spring 2014 showed how successful Lepore has been in meeting that challenge.

Lepore’s “neo-romanticism,” as she called it, is a winning blend of soft and easy. Overall, fabrics seemed lighter than in past spring seasons and there was a decided simplicity to the designs, the kind of deceptively simple creations that may look basic but require an expert eye and hand to make a garment really work.

Collages123One of the themes for this season overall was a return to the slip dress, a ‘90s phenomenon, this time shown frequently with ruffles along or across the body. To be certain, this collection was about more than a slip dress. But some of the best looks featured Lepore’s reworking of the slip dress.

Easy, yet defined shapes, were another theme Lepore returned to throughout the collection including pieces with drawstring and paperbag-like wais

Images courtesy of blackdanceandbroadway.wordpress.com
Images courtesy of blackdanceandbroadway.wordpress.com

The range of colors was particularly lovely. Brilliant white looked fresh and cool while vibrant shades of poppy and daffodil were straight from a summer garden. Blush and aqua blue pieces also contributed to the light and easy feel, especially in lace that promised to tease , albeit gently.

Lepore also made frequent use of a vibrant floral—yellow with flashes of poppy, green and white, giving the collection a welcome note of optimism married with a breezy confidence.

—Karyn D. Collins

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