You can’t fault Fausto Puglisi for lack of optimism. He’s got plenty. “I am a happy person,” the designer said backstage. “I love life, so when I design for spring, I like to think about color and I think, ‘Bang!’”
That “bang” was hard to miss in Emanuel Ungaro’s bold lineup. It was heard in the loud hues, from acid to electric, and the flamboyant silhouettes with which Puglisi nodded to the Eighties heyday of the label’s founder.
The designer took archival floral prints and reworked them digitally into a new mash-up used in tailored coats and flowing dresses. A print dress with a lacelike devoré as contrasting sleeve and hem detail was modest by the collection’s standards; a languid gypsy dress in the same pattern, and a matching tailored jacket, made a case for summer ease. Some patterns were so blended, though, it was hard to make out if they featured actual flowers or were a riff on tie-dye.
Puglisi bookended the show with looks he described as “Roy Halston meets Ungaro,” i.e., slinky goddess dresses with plunging necklines. The final numbers were replete with capes for extra-dramatic effect. Not that this show needed it.