ELIE SAAB SPRING 2014

 ELIE SAAB

SPRING 2014

Elie Saab went back to the garden for Spring. "A Lace Garden," he called it. There were scads of the stuff in his pretty collection today, all in the colors of flowers: camellia white, rosy pink, bright bougainvillea, and a vivid green.

To see this show was to be reminded of how commonplace sheer fabrics and views of the bare skin underneath have become on the runways, even while they're still scandalously off-limits on the red carpets. 

Points to Saab's stylist for finding ways to make the see-through lace look discreet; lingerie could become a growth market for the designer.

Saab gave his filigreed dresses a graphic edge this season with the grosgrain ribbon he used to trim seams.

 Also new: not one, but two prints. It's rare to see anything but monochrome on Saab's runway, but here, colorful roses appeared on the hem of a white party dress and the neckline of a white jumpsuit. 

There was also a black and white chiaroscuro lace dotted with more flowers that decorated gowns from bust to hem. The chiaroscuro came out ahead.

Even if the color black doesn't have much place in a rose garden, the black lace dresses at the end of Saab's collection stole the show.

A halter style that alternated horizontal bands of silk crepe and lace was gorgeous, but getting back to that attractive sense of discretion, the best-looking dress was opaque everywhere except for its lace sleeves.

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BALMAIN SPRING 2014

BALMAIN SPRING 2014

Overalls at Balmain? Two years ago, when Olivier Rousteing stepped into his creative director role, it was bling, baby, bling. 

But after a Fall show that often landed on the wrong side of audacious, Rousteing is reconsidering the house's signature intense beading. "I wanted to explore something casual and sporty," he shared backstage. "It's less evening and more real. It's more me."

Cue Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" on the soundtrack and the first look out—a cardigan, of all things, belted over a ruffled skirt that fell all the way to the knees.

True, it was black leather, but a skirt that grazes the models' knees qualifies as headline news at Balmain. And there was more where that came from, including quilted bombers, sweatshirts, and baseball tees.

We're not saying that Rousteing gave up entirely on glitz. Not at all. The silhouettes were more relaxed than usual, but there was still plenty happening on the surface of things.

For Spring, he likes pied-de-poule in black and white and Vichy prints in baby blue or pink, accented with necklaces and wrestler's belts. 

Denim got the deluxe treatment, quilted and trimmed in chunky gold chain, or reproduced in a silk print. 

Crystals came in at the end, but because they're so familiar at Balmain, they felt predictable. Best in show was a pair of those overalls fitted all the way up above the bust in glossy black leather.

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