Peekaboo Panels and Surprising Sparkle at Edition Georges Chakra

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This morning in the Promenade tent at Bryant Park, we headed into the Edition Georges Chakra show as the earlier Lacoste show let out. The crowds, and the designs were like polar opposites?an older, more conservative crowd for Chakra kicked out the sporty younger set who managed to wake up early enough for Lacoste.

Still, despite Chakra being a Saturday morning show, the place was packed and Alex McCord and Simon van Kempen?aka the weirdest couple on The Real Housewives of New York?eagerly gave interviews and mugged for the photographers. We just sat down to read through the list of looks, and with featured colors of black, Wedgewood blue, copper and silver, there could be no doubt that this was a collection for the deep of winter.

On the runway, Chakra showed none of the slouchy layering that appeared at other shows so far this fashion week. Short and shimmery dresses showed their sexy side with peekaboo slits cut across the chest and even more down the back. One dress even bordered on deconstructionist, with everything but the zipper cut out of the back, and only top strips down the arms to hint at sleeves.

The whole show was a parade of unexpected sparkle and polish, with eye-catching twists like bows embellished with crystal to finish off the asymmetrical straps at the back of a dress, or the delicate lace gloves and collars that accompanied almost every look. And it could have been the models, with their messy top knots and red lips, but we felt the collection had a '90s attitude; it evoked that decade's transition from volume and crazy color to the sleeker 2000s. We could imagine Cher from Clueless loving the looks, but a Cher that would now be going on 40 years old.
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