Sonia Rykiel's muse is a sexy businesswoman who knows full well that the guys are checking out her legs, but blithely seals the deal anyway. Of course, that's also Rykiel herself—a working woman who doesn't think sex appeal should be left in the bedroom.
Her Fall 2002 collection, with its fluttering bows, narrow black pants and pencil skirts, fluffy fur vests and minis, and sheer knits hit on most of fall's major trends. But Rykiel has been there, done that well before most of the designers who took a bow this week, and she knows how to make the season over in her image. For starters, there's her notoriously skinny cut, shown to advantage in numerous clingy knit tops and dresses, and her typical touch of Forties retro in the coats. And in this season of the knit, those horizontal stripes and ballerina necklines couldn't be anybody but Sonia.
Things did occasionally stray off course—especially some droopy tweeds, an interlude of acid green and a surfeit of kimono-sleeved fur coats. But when Rykiel closed the show with an eye-popping gang of models, all in brightly colored off-the-shoulder sweaters and droopy-brimmed hippie hats, it was clear that she still knows how to work a room.
