Carolina Herrera is just back from Singapore, tropical mecca, shopper's paradise, and orchid capital of the world, where she opened a new store and was reminded that seasonless-ness is the new normal for fashion. So it stood to reason that her new Resort collection wasn't filled with beach cover-ups and safari gear—though her customer can certainly afford to travel. Rather, it was chockablock with the cocktail frocks that are her best sellers. That they all played on a floral motif? That may have been a coincidence.
Either way, "this collection is all about prints," Herrera opined at her newly refurbished studio. (She has newfound access to the terrace encircling the space, so she shot her lookbook there, among the thematically appropriate topiary.) The flower theme was picked apart every which way, and the looks ran the gamut from literal to abstract. The floral-stripe jacquards were impressive if a bit tricky. A more straightforward flower print on cream silk was closer to the designer's comfort zone. (And the palazzo pants that were one of her major statements for Resort gave her ample surface area on which to plant it.) Then there were more painterly versions: one abstract in the collection's colors of carnation pink and poppy red; another Pop Art-inspired, blown up to supersize, and layered on blocks of solid color.
Ethereal as it may have been—"I like everything floaty," Herrera proclaimed, as a pair of trailing skirts in handkerchief organza sailed by—business as usual was enlivened by odd moments of newness. One finale gown was embroidered with bits of rubber, the same sort you'd find on sneaker soles. Float like a butterfly, stomp like a Chuck.
