This Resort season, Douglas Hannant was not in the mood to spout off a few far-fetched references. His honesty was refreshing. Even more so than usual, the collection was straight-up about his customer. Specifically, her desire to wear soft, unstructured gowns and separates. "They don't want anything that's too complicated," he said at his showroom. Hannant described the look as "bohemian art collector," inspired by a few of his private clients who squarely fit the description. A single-seam silk dress in a swirled-paint print glided over the body, while the shoulders on a textured navy jacket were rounded for a bit of softness. The edges of a backless halter-neck gown in coral guipure lace were left undone to create a sort of fringe, and a strapless polka-dot tunic fluttered over the hips of a pair of matching wide-leg trousers.
Yet while the designer made an obvious point of avoiding too much structure, each piece was still very sleek. For instance, a psychedelic-print caftan with kimono sleeves could have been loose and frumpy, but instead it was cut close to the body and sported a thigh-high slit. Hannant's customers might want easy items, but they've got to be sexy, too.
