Yves Saint Laurent muse Betty Catroux was the jumping-off point this season at Elie Tahari. The Moroccan tiles from the travels of Saint Laurent and Catroux were translated into prints on dresses and charming pant and trouser sets. Though these clothes aren’t breaking new ground a la Catroux, the label, often reserved for professional women, is skewing younger with animal prints and new pant silhouettes. Tahari even introduced cargo pants. The casual, utilitarian shape was rendered in a black satin drawstring version and a faux leather incarnation, the types of pieces that could easily transition from the office to a post-work dinner. Simple staples worked best. They allow women to mix and match, dress them up or down: Two examples were a black croc-embossed jacket with a boyish shape and a black sweater with artfully narrowed sleeves and a slice cutout at the collarbone.
While the reptile- and leopard-print dresses served their purpose—a funky take on the standard nine-to-five garb—the animal print was best used when it was more subtle, like in a deep blue patchworked leopard print accordion pleat skirt. It should work across Tahari’s customer base, from established to new.
