Last season, Tudor England. This season, Versailles.
The crossing made a world of difference. Vera Wang has recently opted off the runway in favor of appointments at her Paris showroom, while distilling each collection’s essence in a short, artful film. Last season, that meant Renaissance-inspired regalia reinterpreted with armorlike cone bras built into most of the clothes. An interesting runway concept, perhaps, only Wang didn’t show on the runway, and so the construct confused.
This season, Wang’s shift to the Court of Louis XIV (inspired by some binge-watching of “Versailles”) made all the difference. The Sun King doesn’t exactly suggest discretion, and even without him, Wang has a penchant for sober theatricality. Here, the silhouettes swung dramatic, and many of the fabrics, intensely wrought. But by removing the most extreme elements of construction and integrating more of the languid pieces she loves, Wang worked the Renaissance ruse with intrigue, grace and some commercial viability. “Modern fancy,” Wang said.
From a palette of mostly black-and-white, Wang worked a juxtaposition of tailoring and frou, and plain and decorative fabrics — shirtings and sober wools against handworked lace, rich brocades, grommeted embroideries. The lineup featured extreme proportions: huge, romantic tent gowns; teensy-tiny shorts, sleeves that poufed big time on top and others that extended well past the hand. There were flying-buttress shoulders, brocade and tiered-lace capelets, and neck ruffs to there. But there were also real, beautifully sculpted jackets, and trousers and skirts to wear with blouses, simple and unadorned, or zhushed up with an added-on, pleated ruff. Modern fancy, and chic, too.