A former assistant to Donna Karan, Istvan Francer is now emerging as a designer in his own right with the backing of Finpart, the owners of Cerruti. His third collection was evidence both of his experience in cutting and of his intelligent approach to the art of modern dressing. Though his silhouette was based on a tight, tiny top and a swirling skirt—an outline emerging everywhere now—he put his personal stamp on it. A Hungarian background gives the deisgner a taste for the decorative and romantic, which came through in gauzy black and gold lace dresses and some peasant-derived embroidery on a curvy jacket. Such distinctive characteristics were balanced by the designer’s light-handed, flattering touch, and the show marked a promising step along the road away from costume and toward wearability.
