Donna Karan/ Fall 2012 RTW

Cotton for night? It’s starting to look like we’re headed in that direction, given that we’re only a few resort collections in and already we’ve seen a fair contingent of evening dresses done in the quintessentially casual fabric. And maybe it was only a matter of time. Maybe this is just an evolution of all the emphasis that’s been placed these last few seasons on sportiness and utilitarianism. (What’s more practical than, after the gala, throwing the dress in the wash?)

The airy dresses and sophisticated evening suits Donna Karan showed Monday morning weren’t cotton, exactly, but they were modeled on perhaps even simpler stuff: paper. “Sit around and play with napkins long enough and all of a sudden you have a dress,” is how she put it, likely understating the particularity in her design process. But for all their great drama and effect, the looks she brought out—a one-shouldered frock in crumpled, gray organza; a halter dress in strips of sheer Schiaparelli pink; a wrap jacket with a Gaga-esque shard of satin jutting out of the shoulder—seemed as if they did in fact weigh as much as Karan’s proverbial pile of serviettes. The same goes for the giant, jagged crystals worn as earrings, jacket closures, and clustered along the neck and hem of a simple, slim-fitting jersey dress. Chunky though they were, they didn’t look burdensome. In fact, they added a wonderful sense of urban glimmer—a Karan signature—just in time for the holidays.

Photo: Courtesy of Donna Karan
Source: www.vogue.com