"Maybe I can¿t bring you to the Mediterranean, but I can bring you to the Hudson River," quipped Hannant (recently back from Caracas, Venezuela). While his devoted followers—including Ivana Trump, Valesca Guerrand-Hermès, Jamee Gregory, and Olivia Palermo—gathered under a tent on the roof of the Hudson Hotel, the designer's ship sailed almost an hour late. But the clothes, for the most part, were worth the wait.
The collection tacked between silhouettes close to the body and looser ones (some of which, unfortunately, jibed into tent territory). He translated the patterns of Portuguese tiles into prints and embroidery patterns; Elizabeth Taylor in Boom! inspired a chic caftan. Paper-bag waists and balloon shapes weren¿t exactly news-making, but what Hannant called his "ghosted" pieces, with a sheer print floated over a solid version, succeeded in creating the light, wafting effect he was after—as did two short and surprisingly youthful summer-white dresses in eyelet and guipure lace.
