EWELL:

7

Desi

ners

say touch it

By Layne Christensen
Fashion Editer

THIS fall, slip into
something comfort-
abie. The world’s top
designers have created
uncomplicated cloth-
ing from sensual fab-
rics that beg to be
touched.

ON

Call it easy opulence,
casual luxury or relaxed ele-
gance. However you define
it, the fashion story for fall is
the same.

Silhouettes are clongated
and relaxed. Fabrics are luxu-
rious. Cojors are neat neu-
trals or rich berry shades.

in Paris and Milan, under-
stated, clegant sportswear
was updated with quiet inno-
vation.

At Gueci, models
slouched down the runway in
ankle-skimming “trouser”
skirts, cur slim and sexy with
a trouser-like fly-tront. In his
debut collection for Hermes,
Martin Margicla showed
clean-lined pullovers, skirts
and dresses in camel and grey
cashmere with hand-rolled
hems.

Giorgio Armani perfected
sweater dressing by crafting
mohair into the finest tops
and fluid pants with match-
ing fringed shawls. Valentino
and Gaulticr showed chunky,
homespun sweaters. Soft knit
cardigans and long sweater
coats replace tailored coats
and jackets for a softer
approach to suit dressing.

New York — designers
showed much of the sarne.

Ac Raiph Lauren, cash-
mere flowed into long,
swecping coats and cable-
knit sweater dresses. At
DKNY, tweedy hand-knit
sweaters topped mid-length
skirts in felt or satin.

The funnel-neck showed
up at Geoffrey Beene, shap-
ing bolero jackets worn over
shni-lined jumpsuits.

Isaac | Mizrahi paired
Siouchy pullovers with satin
skirts.

Ar the Matinee Fashion
Ready-to-Wear shows in
Toronto this past March, 18
of this country’s top design-
ers proved they could keep
pace with the best with the

fashion industry's best.

Here, too, the fashions
were relaxed in silhouette yet
rich in fabric and detail.

Vancouver designer Ron
Leal set the tone with his
show-opening presentation
of menswear-inspired wom-
enswear. Fedora-topped
models cruised the catwalk in
relaxed pants and tailored
jackets.

In a pretty play on con-
trasts, the designer topped
rose-print pants in a crisp
evening-wear fabric with a
slouchy jacket and polo tunic
in soft fleece. Ankle-grazing
cardigans played well with
tweed trousers. Corduroy
trousers dressed down
tweedy coats.

Deborah Tissington for
Neto also played simple sil-
houcttes against luxurious
fabrics, adding fur tim to a
grouping of metallic leather
jackets, pants and mini-dress-
cs.

North Van talent Feizal
Virani has also loosened his
traditionally structured style
this fall, showing unstruc-
tured iackets with shiny
wrapped tops and pinstriped
suitings.

Casual elegance —s can
extend into the sight, with
sensual lingerie doing double
duty as evening wear. A satin
slip, to pretty to stay home
alone, topped with a swearer
can just as easily go out on
the town,

Mabé pearls set in 14 Carat Gold.
Ring, Earrings. Pendant is set with
five diamonds totalling .20 Cwt.

a
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