The spirit of Millicent Rogers haunted this all-American show like a dirndl-skirt-wearing, Navaho-art-collecting, globe-trotting ghost. Jeff Mahshie, who co-designs the line with Julie Chaiken, explained that they chose Rogers as their starting point because of her "chic, nomadic lifestyle," as well as the vivid, ethnographic colors—pungent tomato-reds and yolk-yellows—she pioneered in the 1940s.
You could see that Millicent flair in the longer, slimmer cut of the skirts, the curvy glamour sheaths, and the fuller trousers. Front-row guests like Kelly Rowland and Juliana Margulies no doubt were most interested in the latter: Customers count on Chaiken for a well-cut pair of pants. This season, they can choose from a flannel sailor look, a full-cuffed option, or sporty cropped styles. Many of these were worn in a (typically Millicent) mannish manner, with cravats and hand-knit calvary jackets.
Less successful were the tuxedo looks and cummerbund-bound waists. There were also several anomalous sari pieces—apparently a reference to the cultural tourism undertaken by their style icon—and five "Taos" dresses in full-on sun-scorched primaries that were just a bit too much Millicent.
