Designers have been sizing up all season long. Nina Ricci's Peter Copping got in on the act tonight, conjuring a scene of young girls playing dress-up in their mother's and grandmother's clothes. Sleeves extended below the fingertips; too-large skirts were suspended from braces or hung slackly from the hips; and dresses were gathered at the torso, as if they'd been pinned to accommodate tiny waists. The collection had a sense of dishabille altogether different from last season's. There was a lot more bare skin on display for Spring, but this outing wound up seeming more provocative—like Lolita, but in French lingerie instead of 1950's American polyester.
Copping gave a lot of the pieces a DIY spin, from slipdresses patched together with tweed and lace to tweedy jackets that had a relaxed, almost sporty feel, thanks to insets at the sides in semi-sheer silk. A coat was embroidered in a naïve, connect-the-dots style. Some pieces came off a little too undone, like a printed chiffon skirt that seemed to expose a couple of inches of pantyhose, but others retained their typical polish. A streamlined black coat was still chic, despite the fact that its blush pink fox collar was askew.
Given Copping's chosen theme, you missed the grand evening looks he's known for when they didn't make their expected exit at the end of the show. Among the party confections he showed, a sheer black dress that revealed the outline of its slip underneath was best.
