Barbara Bui is a couple weeks shy of opening her first-ever store in Los Angeles. Naturally, she needs some event dresses for the Rodeo Drive boutique, so her Resort collection includes a capsule line of white and black floor-length numbers, some with beaded embroidery on the bodice or built-in metal necklaces. They may sound dressy, but they're as easy as slipdresses; Bui's aesthetic is casual and cool.
That's just as true when it's work clothes she's designing. Her tweed jackets, for example, are shot through with of-the-moment chartreuse and electric orange. And her favorite piece of the season is a relaxed silk jumpsuit (a trend with long legs, if ever there was one) in a similar citrus shade. The designer checked other must-haves off the list here, too, like eyelet, color blocking, and countless takes on the leather moto jacket. The collection didn't have a unifying point of view, but Bui will have no shortage of merchandise to offer at her new L.A. store.
