It may no longer be the Gilded Age, but for those who lead a gilded lifestyle, Ralph & Russo delivered a collection that would fit their needs, name-checking fashion illustrator Erté and his “Les Bijoux de Perles” artworks.
Tamara Ralph certainly put the “deco” in Art Deco, mining the period for fan motifs, sprays of feathers and those ropes of pearls. Case in point: The cocktail dress made of tiers of crystal fringing and glass beats, but also variants such as a tulle bodysuit dripping in ropes of pearls paired with trousers, the iridescent sequin fringes scattered on a cape, or a more Sixties-inflected minidress embellished in crystal discs.
Elsewhere, it was business as usual for the designer, who showed a large sampling of styles that her clients are accustomed to and will find appealing: tweed suits, draped gowns with capes, cold-shoulder numbers, cocktail minis, all in sherbet shades and embellished with sparkling details.