Am I the only one who's noticed a mini-trend of designers returning to art school? From finger painting (Adam Lippes) to the moody style of the Color Field school (Bottega Veneta) there appears to be a decidedly artistic bent to a few collections this season. As refreshing as this direction is I was fascinated by the methods Oscar de la Renta employed with his 60+ piece
Resort collection. The first thing I noticed were a line up of models, all of them stars of the international runways looking almost miserable under headgear that resembled nothing short of YSL castoffs from his Impressionist collection from 20 some odd years ago. Cubist inspired broad brimmed S
panish dancer hats crowned the heads of an army of beauties whom were made unrecognizable. The ghost of Picasso was busy at work on the surface of these dresses. It brought
to mind a midnight raid on the galleries of the Met, but one performed in the pitch darkness. There was little rhyme or reason to the work beyond its resemblance to his Cubist period with a generous helping of the sort of hats that filled Westminster Abbey a few weeks ago. It was about 40 exits before the pieces began to fit and an elegant subtlety took the place of awkward, too literal representations of that period in art. At that moment the story line dropped and was traded for one th
at was so familiar I could have predicted each subsequent look. Here came the faille cocktails with square-cut necklines, fitted bodices and p
opover skirts, the frothy, flirty, ostrich feathered souffle, the knit cardy over matching sheath which is a tripartite homage to Anna, Adolfo and Coco, and the regulation silk chiffon stunner dripping in a degrade of paillettes, beads and high-ticket thread work. There were some pretty numbers in the endless defile like a smart black coat over maillot with matching drawn white lines, a white on white shift with what appeared to be flakes of the same resting on its surface and a few delicately d
raped georgette gowns in pale greens and blues, but they were tough to find under the leaden styling and ceaseless variations on a shaky theme. I'd love to see a collection with new an
d unexpected shapes, a concerted effort to push the boundaries. I used to look forward to this collection more than almost any other.
On 9/11 when I had a full book of appointments for my collection and was actually done on time I had an invitation to see Oscar's show that afternoon at 1:00. In the shock and chaos of that morning and the realization that my dreams of that season were a tiny puff of attendant smoke to the much larger cloud 40 blocks south, I sent my team home. Anton called from the U.N. to say he'd meet me and we'd walk home together. In my temporary insanity I argued that we couldn't head north until after Oscar's show. Nothing was goin
g to deter me from seeing his collection even if I would have to go alone. Anton kept trying to convince me that there would be no show but I disagreed. I
was holding onto that dream that somehow seeing something transcendent and beautiful would help me make sense of the carnage. Well there was no show, thousands of lives were lost and it was the beginning of a long slow end to a way of life we'd all come to know. I missed that beauty then and I miss it still.
It must be pretty cool to wake up in the morning knowing that that night you'll be ushered into the Hall of Fame. Granted, this isn't the Rock and Roll Hall but the CFDA's Hall of Fame. At the august age of 48 Marc Jacobs will be given his first Lifetime Achievment award at the ceremonies this evening at Linclon Center's Alice Tully Hall. That's no small feat when you consider that he's still kicking and other greats like Christian Lacroix, Azzedine Alaia, John Galliano, Ralph Rucci, Tom Ford, 
Isabel Toledo, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, Miuccia Prada, J.P.Gaultier, Thomas Maier,and did I include Ralph Rucci on that list? Well, these people, most of whom are a little older have yet to take that particular stroll to the podium. This is not to say that Jacobs is undeserving, either. I wouldn't presume to pass such harsh judgement but only to raise a puzzled eyebrow at 
the prospect. I start to wonder if myopia is a hush-hush affliction that the fashion community is afraid to discuss. At a certain point one starts to question if the pool of talent in this country has sprung a nasty leak or if that pool is really nothing more than a shallow tub that fits a tiny handful of paddlers. The list of nominees over the past 5-10 years 
has consisted of the same players with a little added spice for the sake of relevance. It's obvious that press, ad pages and industry popularity are all the deciding factors in the decision making but it's also obvious that oversight is rampant. At a certain point the audience will begin to grumble and some indelicate 
questions will need to be addressed. So the coronation is just moments away and we have the Marc Jacobs Resort2012 collection to take in as an appetizer before the main course. There are a few things that are lovely like a sweet pair of shorts in a bold graphic wall paper print, delicate pastel and neutral shaded daisies under a glaze of pailletes and a navy pleated tennis skirt and short sleeved top. Beyond that, I don't see an effort that translates to an "A" game. Maybe all the excitement of tonight's award and his nomination in another category or 2 has sapped his creative resources. Whatever the reason, I'm sure the show tonight will be stellar.
