Women’s Wear Daily
The Bold and the Basic
Life’s a beach - at least for Cynthia Rowley, who worked a subtle surf-scuba theme, complete with squishy handbags made from floatable material. The key silhouette here was the body-skimming sheath, rendered clean and sleek or arty, with a wave print or sheer veiling. To this, Rowley added outlines and colorblocking details for a graphic twist and further played up the body geometry in shapely cutouts. These turned downright anatomical at times, as in the witty sheath with the spinelike embellishments down the back. The collection was one of the designer’s stronger outings - sporty, graphic and clean. But clothes aside, it was a runway prop - a giant working stopwatch - that had people talking. “Designers are always under the gun,” she explained, pre-show. “There are so many seasons now, and it’s always more, more, more.” Well tick-tock. The next deliveries are around the corner.
