Look read the lettering running vertically down the model’s right side. A yellow arrow pointed directly down and left to Me. Solution? Look at me. The joke (were it meant to be one or not) was that you were probably already checking out who was wearing this puzzle, since she was dressed in a sheer tulle T-shirt minidress. Mirko Fontana and Diego Marquez hit upon the promising idea of taking up the pictogram puzzle, or rebus, for their new collection. Sadly, their hieroglyphic hypothesis failed to hit the heights it could have. Unless this contestant was having a serious senior moment—not unlikely—only the first Look at Me rebus seemed to make symbolic sense.
But hey, maybe that’s nitpicking, because there were some fun pieces in the lineup. Hyper-colored fake furs dripping with oversize teardrop paillettes were worn over sheer organza dresses opaquely printed with the five sensual solutions to Au Jour Le Jour’s “puzzles”: Touch Me, Look at Me, Smell Me, Taste Me, Hear Me. Certain symbols corresponded to each solution, like a bird—in Twitter blue or canary yellow—that went along with Hear Me. One real puzzle was how a perfectly fine but somehow incongruous gray Prince of Wales topcoat with three high buttons and no graphic twist fit in with the other looks.
Perhaps the not totally developed theme was really just a vehicle for the ’90s logomania flagged by the press release and heralded by the mega-mix soundtrack (featuring “Ride on Time,” “Groove Is in the Heart,” et al). Those lettered organza dresses prefaced washed-denim truckers (a touch oversize) and jeans (a smidgen mom), stitched with brand initial ribbons. A closing trio of hot double-zipped, rib-knit dresses came similarly embellished. It was a pity the puzzles were so arbitrary, yet even sans brainteasers there were some eye-pleasers here. Just an added bit of thought, though, could have led somewhere far more interesting.
