Jason Wu Fall 2014--midnight in Paris
Fashion from the Jason Wu Fall 2014 collection is modeled, during New York Fashion Week on Feb. 7, 2014. Credit: AP
The inspiration: Jason Wu’s runway pulsed with a French passion and languid luxury that might appeal to characters in a novel by Balzac or Flaubert. The long marbled runway traversed two rooms, punctuated by what looked like white stone archways, as if the models were walking down a long dreamy corridor.
The vibe: Youthful—the slinky panne velvet slip dresses with open backs are more than whispering sex appeal. But serious about fashion---the voluminous coats are not for the feint of heart...or for those who faint (or at least wilt) at the sight of fur. Fox bags, raccoon collars—there was lots of it.
The lust-o-meter: High, very high, unless you’re a PETA member in good standing. The alpaca lilac coat with dramatic raccoon collar makes for quite an entrance, and all those cut-on-the-bias slip dresses with spaghetti straps that cut vertical or horizontal in back make for a passionate farewell. And for a subtle shimmer, the black alpaca luster mohair jacket appeared to glisten, and the metal-tipped t-strap shoes caught the light as models walked.
Eh: The fur bags—shoppers that poof with silver fox, or the astrakhan pouchette—looked, well, stunning, there, we said it...and the texture catches the light in a way that your vinyl leather day bag from Forever 21 can only dream about. But it does seem like that kind of luxurious excess may be a tad…old-fashioned. Are younger consumers really as beholden to the symbols of cache that worked for women in centuries (even just decades) past? You can certainly justify (if you care to) a full-on fur coat, for the warmth factor—anyone who lives in seriously cold climes—hey, Doc Zhivago, howya doin’?—certainly knows the functional value of fur. But what are you warming in that shopper or pouchette? Breath mints? It may be time for a re-think on that particular issue, Monsieur Wu.
Our take: Oui, oui, oui—oui want it all. (Okay, except possibly for the bags. Though for those less politically minded, they are hard to resist.)
