I see what I want to see and so do you. Overweight, Normal, or Underweight most of us mis-perceive our actual body size. Tiffany Powell reported at the Ameri…

Getting a jump on the Resort season, Diesel Black Gold‘s Andreas Melbostad was in New York this week, showing off his second collection for the brand. Studded with leather biker jackets, it’s a continuation of his confident, cool February outing, but with a somewhat gentler feel. The look is influenced by workwear—Melbostad mentioned painters, plaster workers, and even firemen, and, in keeping with those influences, coated denim with a white dust or added oversize metal toggles to jackets. Still, the results seemed subtler here. Chalk that up to several things, among them the prevalence of white and ivory (counterpointed, of course, with plenty of black), his use of silk on a couple of short, breezy dresses, and an absence of the kind of hardware that gave his earlier clothes such a tough-girl feel.

The collection’s black-and-white print was designed, Melbostad said, to resemble an “aggressive bandanna.” As graphic as the printed jeans, T-shirts, and paneled sweaters looked, they were the least persuasive, mostly because they looked somewhat familiar. A hybridized tuxedo jacket combining silk twill and denim played to the brand’s strengths, and the designer’s. Other likely hits: denim separates that combined three different washes, and a fitted, almost strict indigo utility jacket. More of a surprise was a chunky fisherman sweater that gave off an almost preppy vibe. That was something new from Melbostad. Alluding to his upcoming show in September, he promised he’ll be expanding the Black Gold vocabulary even further.
—Nicole Phelps
Runway Feed

Oscar de la Renta opted out of the big to-do he usually puts on for Resort, showing his new collection to small groups of journalists today in his showroom instead. “Eighty percent of people at a show go because it’s a happening, which makes your work more difficult,” he said. “This is a more humane way to see clothes.”

The intimacy of the proceedings was apropos of the offerings at hand. Close inspection was required to determine if the colorful flowers blossoming on a Prince of Wales-check skirtsuit were printed or embroidered. As it turned out, there was a bit of both. There’s never a shortage of embellishment chez Oscar, of course, but the mood this season seemed particularly buoyant, with nods to mid-century couture. The models’ lips were painted classic red, they wore net bows in their ponytails, and their pumps often matched their dresses.

A peplum bisected a slim sheath, and a navy appliquéd silk faille top, which he called a “French jacket,” flared out in an A-line above a pair of tapering trousers. Silhouettes were exaggerated for evening, too, via bubble skirts (complete with a brooch accenting the waistline in back) and Watteau backs. The collection’s most striking number was a column gown in indigo silk faille with jet beading down the front; the cut was slim, but the effect was still positively grand.
—Nicole Phelps
Runway Feed

Flashy metallic sequins and vampy black lace are typically reserved for a night out on the town, but the new DKNY Resort collection translated those glam materials into everyday looks by incorporating them into sporty silhouettes. Bomber jackets, for example, came in gold leather or encrusted with allover sequins, while updated track pants done in silver-foiled French terry were backed in lightweight crepe. Styled with tailored jackets or capes and pointy heels—as they were in the lookbook—many of those elevated athletic pieces could easily transition to evening. Other standouts that achieved this high-low mix included flouncy day dresses cut from a spongy technical mesh, as well as an embellished sweatshirt shown with a black crocheted maxi skirt. All in all, a successful, modern balancing act.
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed