Finally, Fall fashion acknowledges the Copenhagen conference on climate change. Charles Anastase called his new collection "Winter Garden" to mark the discombobulation of a world where exotic summer fruits and flowers are available in the chill dead of winter. His message was slightly diffused by the fact that he chose a woman he called "a crazy gardener" to embody the concept. That immediately made me picture the eccentric chatelaine of a grand English estate. Was I wrong?
There was certainly enough eccentricity to indulge anyone's random reading of the clothes. Proportions were elongated: high-waisted pants flaring to the floor; dresses long, clinging, with a kick pleat; coats huge and blanketlike. This chatelaine probably lived in the forties, but the seventies certainly loved her style, particularly those pants. Though Anastase chose cheerful colors like pink and yellow, he also opted for heavy felted wools. In keeping with the climate-change warning (one model had a skull painted on her face), there wasn't much levity. What little there was came in the form of a plissé smock over Chinese silk pants (now, that is crazy gardening) or the outfit that featured a drop-waist yellow dress draped with tulle covered in naïf appliqués. I'll give Anastase one thing: He creates images that spin around your head for hours.
