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RUNWAY REPORTThE

FEBRUARY 16, 2010

VENExiANA

JEN KAO

hElEN YARmAK

DOO Ri

ChADO RAlPh RUCCi

THE NATURAL, RESPONSIBLE CHOICE

Fur is a key fabric in most designer collections this season whether used for full garments, as trim or on accessories. Designers Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs of Cushnie et Ochs played with texture and shape this season, offering extended shoulder styles, a key trend, in a pale gray knit sweater

jacket with SAGA silver fox fur sleeves and in a drop-shoulder chalk-white wool coat with Mongolian lamb. At Richard Chai, a dyed fox cardigan is comfortably elegant. For her first foray in fur, Wayne Lee works deep saffron sheared mink into a poncho that is both luxurious and practical while

her leather-tied raccoon shawls may just be one of the must-have accessories of the season.

Fur, it appears, has become the ultimate luxury branding tool for designers worldwide.

ChADO RAlPh RUCCi

In a line sure to delight his core customers and entice new ones, designer Ralph Rucci showed his mastery of exquisite detail, sophisticated cuts and sumptuous fabrications. Texture mixing, a big fall story, is a standout in Rucci’s hands, most evident in his unique pairing of black broadtail and horsehair in a spare, modern dress and simple, elegant coat or in a chic black knitted mink and fox tunic. A scarred rain coat with bleached mink lining presented his version of the perfect “around town” coat. Rucci’s black spiral sable and horsehair coat made the ultimate luxury statement while a chestnut quilted silk moiré pant suit with clutch coat reversing to mink is the perfectly polished look for his sophisticated customer.

DOO Ri

Designer Doo Ri Chung’s Fall collection is a complex mix of the designer’s trademark spare tailoring and unique draping in a color palette of rich blues, deep corals and plum. Elegance with a modern edge is what her customer wants, and she delivers with a deep blue feathered fox chubby with sexy black leather trim. Decorative detailing is applied with spectacular results to two key fur looks: a black belted wool coat lavished with cascading

black sequins and a black goat border, and a tiered pale fox cropped jacket embellished with jewel embroidery – pure luxury for the urban sophisticate.

hElEN YARmAK

A fashion innovator, Helen Yarmak imbues the most luxurious furs with a nonchalance and glamour that befits her young, international customer as when she adds jet-encrusted cap sleeves to a sheared ranch mink tunic for a touch of flirty elegance. Her attention to detail is evident in more structural elements, too – a beige lamb jacket with fly-away back and hood and a pale gray lamb hooded blouson jacket with leather drawstring bottom. This season she also focuses on color, turning out some of the hippest young furs around, including a notch- collar emerald-dyed Finn raccoon jacket, an easy topper for day or evening. Known for her unique sables, Yarmak skillfully shapes each garment into entirely new and unexpected silhouettes as in a Russian sable jacket with kimono-shaped sleeves and a dyed black sable belted coat, perfectly modern, perfectly divine.

VENExiANA

Kati Stern turned her eye toward the red carpet this fall presenting a collection defining

drama and glamour with furs playing a key role. Ready for its close-up, a leopard print Karakul wrap jacket with lavish Finn raccoon collar and cuffs was worn over leading-lady black sequin pants. A textured coat in French lapin with black mink gauntlet sleeves and a python bow belt evoked retro Hollywood style. And who wouldn’t own that red carpet in a taupe silky Karakul bell-shaped coat with oversized Russian sable collar? Suiting looks get the star turn, too, in a boxy double-breasted Karakul jacket with golden Russian sable trim paired with a python skirt.

JEN KAO

Hip young designer Jen Kao offers cool, yet dramatic apparel, a perfect foil for her urban customer. This collection, inspired by raw stones and meteorites found in the Museum of Natural History, offers new “armor” to her followers. Her intricate combinations of leather, fur and sheer texture are evident in a sleek black leather and fox vest with black leather skirt or a python jacket with leather trim and fox sleeves that’s elegant and powerful at the same time. A black leather and tip-dyed fox skirt demands attention while managing to flatter. Volume gives edge to a dyed fox jacket with oversized collar and sleeves for her young customer who exudes confidence.

New York Fashion Week was ushered in by blizzard conditions, a fitting welcome for the editors and retailers bundled in fur as they gathered to see the latest fashions. Once again fur was the focus on the runways

ranging from casual to sporty to couture-like designs that showcased the versatility and uniqueness of this luxury fabrication. A casual presentation at SoHo House by MIFUR, the Italian Fur Association, launched the week with a sneak peek at some of the best in Italian fur design that will be featured at their show in Milan March 3 – 6. Standouts such as a gray Persian lamb jacket with jeweled embroidery by Byte by Teso set the tone for a week of furry fun.

BYTE BY TEsO

ThE WRAP-UP

Fur Information Council of America 8424 A Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 860West Hollywood, California 90069 323.782.1700 www.fur.org

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