"What would happen if Madame de Pompadour met Madame Butterfly?" That was the question Andrew Gn asked himself for Spring. He answered it with a collection that married the opulence of eighteenth-century rococo with the construction of Japanese kimonos. It was a return to lavish form after the more ascetic (relatively speaking, of course) show of jackets and pants he did for Fall. Necklines were ornately beaded or accented with origamilike folds, squared-off sleeves were laboriously handworked, and skirts blossomed beneath wide belts. But the real story was the fabrics. Gn had many of them woven specially for the show.
Among the most interesting: a black and silver silk damask and microfiber material that happens to be completely waterproof. The strapless cocktail dress made from the stuff could take a midnight dip in a pool and come out unscathed. The other eye-catcher was a shimmering floral in shades of violet and gold modeled after an eighteenth-century kimono fabric that was itself inspired by the wallpaper at Versailles circa Louis XV.
Gn has been doing wedding dresses for private clients—"I'm not Vera Wang yet," he joked—so he finished the show with two white gowns. We can picture a bride saying "I do" to the one-shoulder hand-plisséd number with the burnished gold micro sequins at the waist.
