Designer Collette Dinnigan didn't make the 19-hour trip to Paris this season from Sydney, but her Fall collection did. And from the looks of the pretty dresses hanging on the racks at Le Meurice hotel, the trend toward returning to your roots has made it all the way Down Under. The Aussie dress specialist embraced lace, the fabric with which she had her first success. Most of the frocks came in user-friendly black, and with their lean, to-the-body shapes, they could quite easily make the leap from cocktail hour to the office with the addition of a jacket. Dinnigan had one of those with silk cord embroidery on the front, but she smartly left tailoring to the professionals, building the day portion of her lineup with printed jersey wrap dresses and a casual cotton lace style with flouncy short sleeves. Channeling disco goddesses and fairy princesses, her special-occasion offerings ranged from a strapless mosaic mirror minidress to a one-shoulder gown with floaty tulle skirts in a shade of baby pink. Don't be surprised if you see the latter racking up some air miles to L.A. for Sunday night's red-carpet proceedings.
