Nature calls at New York Fashion Week with collections that feel earthy, easy

Runways go back to nature at New York Fashion Week

NEW YORK — The runways at New York Fashion Week carved a path through the woods — sometimes literally.

Michael Kors had a wooden runway lined with boxwood for his sunny nature-inspired show on Wednesday, which featured a “shredded shrub” fabric. At Rodarte, dresses mimicked tree bark and wood paneling.

But nature was evident even in ways that were less obvious — in natural, textured fabrics like gauze, silk and linen.

“It’s all very natural and easy and it’s all being mixed: chiffon, gauze, leather, suede, hemp and linen. It’s an interesting take on what you find in nature,” said Joe Zee, creative director for Elle magazine.

The earthy feel goes with the easy feeling that has prevailed at the spring Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week previews that run through Thursday. The fashion flock then moves on to London, Paris and Milan.

MICHAEL KORS

Bells and whistles can mask many things in fashion: sketchy tailoring, stale ideas and figure flaws. Simplicity done well, like Michael Kors turned out Wednesday, means everything else has to be perfect.

“It’s all about the way you cut it, the texture … You can’t hide behind ruching and ruffles. But I love simplicity when it’s right,” Kors said backstage just after his “Sunshine State of Mind” collection debuted on the runway. The words he used to describe the look that included a daffodil-yellow cashmere tank dress, a crinkly hemp linen tunic, a white gauze pullover and matching sarong skirt that looked like something the long, lithe model just tossed on in the casually chic way models often do.

The fluid gabardine trench over a stone-colored pullover and floaty linen gauze skirt captured the easy elegance that editors, stylists and retailers are buzzing about as the big message from the spring collections.

The shoes were mostly flat buff-colored sandals. Kors said he was tired of seeing women in heels tucking an extra pair of shoes into their bags; the solution is stylish flats.

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ

The full change in fashion’s favorite silhouette from the aggressive, tight shape of just a season or two ago to a looser, more languid look couldn’t have been more obvious than on the Narciso Rodriguez runway.

His spring collection was feminine and sultry, yet it never lost sight of the strong woman underneath.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Courtney Love were among those in his front row. Love had to put her glasses on to get a better view.

The delicacy of Rodriguez’s spaghetti straps — make that angel hair — on the last few slip dresses was masterful.

Rodriguez has made architectural styles his signature, and they were still a driving force here, but there was an overall mellowing in line with the trends that have dominated New York Fashion Week. And, strategic use of champagne-colored fabrics were used as he hit the bareness-without-skin trend.

VERA WANG

Vera Wang typically specializes in artful, romantic styles, which might give one pause when she cites as inspiration Quentin Tarantino’s violent “Kill Bill.”

But Wang, in her notes, said it was a “fusion of East meets West, with a mixture of boyish urban sophistication and romantic otherworldly sensuality.”

Wang’s dresses were her best offerings, including a red silk-tulle gown with a high neck and hand-ruched draping over a bustier, and a gray jersey dress with twisted pleats and a sheer organza back drape.

She conducted a worthwhile experiment with a rolled “welted” cuff that she added to shorts and, even more successfully, to the collar of a jersey tunic that was paired with a high-waisted skirt that had twisting pleats. But Wang’s high-waisted pant with a pleated front, skinnier legs and, there’s no other way to say this, dropped crotch, might need to re-visit the drawing board.

HERVE LEGER

Max Azria has lightened up his dresses for the Herve Leger brand. Azria tweaked the skintight banded dresses to include light pinks, off-whites and beige to create a chic sexiness.

Azria said the sexiness of the signature dresses comes from the corsetry. When he’s designing them, he thinks of a beautiful woman who “wants to be sexy and classic.”

The clothes were definitely sexy. A nude color sleeveless dress had netting around the neck area and at the hip to reveal skin. A black dress of perforated leather and bands had cutouts. A peach dress played peek-a-boo with mesh. There was also a sweet pink strapless dress with pink and cream lines running down it, and dresses with woven straps that revealed skin.

AP writer Lisa Orkin contributed to this report.