In London, PPQ offers short shorts for winter; black dresses with golden trim

In London, PPQ proposes short shorts for winter

LONDON — The design team PPQ has decided there are only two colors for next fall and winter — black and gold — and the shortest of short shorts is exactly what women need to fend off the winter chill.

Really.

Funny thing was, their shiny gold one-piece short ensemble was the lively highlight of an otherwise overly black and staid collection Saturday at London Fashion Week.

Heavy brocade tassels and trim — in gold, of course — nicely complimented the first item down the runway, a short fitted strapless black dress. But the idea grew less and less successful with each subsequent outfit.

One long slinky black dress was paired with a gold-trimmed cardigan, an ensemble more suited to an established woman who favors that style — first lady Michelle Obama, perhaps? — than the skinny young model wearing it.

Many of the dresses had black-on-black contrasting panels, which livened up the tone somewhat — the best was a two-toned, tuxedo smoking dress, fitted through the waist with tiny buttons.

Black wool coats had wide fur collars and trim, also black.

“I liked the big black coats with the fur,” said Rolien Zonneveld, an 18-year-old model from Holland in the audience.

“But those tassels, ugh!” declared her friend, who then realized that models with tickets to runway shows should probably not criticize designers who may hire them. She declined to give her name.