The artist Coco Fronsac, who paints colorful masks over the faces of subjects in turn-of-the century portraits, was Lubov Azria's greatest inspiration this season for BCBG. She beaded South American-inspired masks onto the front of peasant dresses and printed them onto silk pants, adding an unexpected element to what was otherwise a collection of greatest hits with a twist. Along with lace-blocked silk maxi dresses and tab-collar cotton shirting, there were drop-crotch khakis, plenty of beaded jackets, and a white leather bomber painted black. (The idea was that the paint would slowly wear off with time for an artful effect.) Instead of showing these bohemian pieces with the expected flat sandal, Azria enlisted Frye to create a roughed-up version of the classic Veronica buckle boot. The look nodded to the turn-of-the-century world half hidden by Fronsac's paintings. It proved an interesting combination: commercial, without feeling too generic.
