Springtime at Sonia Rykiel means several things: There will be color; there will be lightweight knits; and the girls will wear their hair in frizzy curls. Come to think of it, the models' locks always look like that here—Rykiel, the red-maned queen of the Rive Gauche, has been an ace at branding since the beginning. New today, though, were the vaguely Asian hats with silk cords, beads, and tassels. Obilike belts sashed cotton poplin shirtdresses, easy caftans, and tunics over wide-legged pants, but Japonisme was just an undercurrent. As ever, it was really all about those sweaters.
The show opened with a trompe l'oeil dress—an hourglass bustier picked out in nude, black, coral, and cinnamon on a background of white. The palette set, those shades reappeared throughout, as color-blocking on a clingy knit tucked into culottes and as stripes on a baggy dress and jumpsuit. A couple of forties-by-way-of-seventies pantsuits and some abstract printed dresses kept things lively.
For the finale, the girls sashayed out to the tune of "Be My Baby." They were bare-legged and wearing only stripey sweaters, matching briefs, and oversize retro shades. If the story doesn't change much from season to season at Rykiel, you're always guaranteed a good time.
