Ending on a High Note

Isaac Mizrahi's show this afternoon, set on a theatrical stage meant to look like a studio lot (complete with rain machine and a tech guy with an umbrella) was the high note of the day. Not only was Mizrahi's fashion "drama" marvelously staged, but the clothes were great, especially the finale of black and white riffs on the tuxedo. Accessories--cardboard hats, hard case handbags--were whimsical too. I loved the short cyclamen dress embroidered with rosettes and the black sequined shorts with a matching bolero jacket had the classic feeling of Yves Saint Laurent. Later in the day at the Calvin Klein show the designer Francisco Costa continued in his minimalist vision in a mostly monochromatic palette of white and smokey greys. His forte is fabric research: light as air mohair jacquard and organza bonded cotton. The only problem was that his airy dresses were awkwardly grounded by some clunky flat Japanese-inspired clogs. And some of the dresses had only one sleeve--an idea I'm not sure will fly with the front row fans like Molly Sims and Eva Mendez.