Jill Stuart can cut a fun and flirty frock with the best of them; her new Resort collection is an exercise in romantic occasion-wear. The lineup's standout, a peony-colored A-line tea dress covered with laser-cut petals, had its red-carpet debut earlier this week, when the designer herself wore it to the CFDA Awards. It was between that one, she told us, and a pretty knee-length number done in an iridescent foiled gauze. The Bling Ring's Katie Chang looked age appropriate in a graphic Fall ’13 look at a photo call in Cannes, proving that Stuart's frocks appeal to a wide range of customers. Chang is about the same age as the designer's three girls.
One might assume you'd have to be a teenager to pull off this collection's matching crop top and bloomer shorts, but Stuart stressed that similar bandeaux have consistently sold out since she introduced them a year ago. Retail-friendly pieces are what a commercial season like Resort is all about.
