In transition, Oscar de la Renta presents a team effort
NEW YORK — All fashion shows are team efforts, but that was truer than usual at Oscar de la Renta’s Spring 2017 runway show Monday at New York Fashion Week.
Designer Peter Copping left his post abruptly in July, citing only personal circumstances, after less than two years in the job. It was one of a slew of recent departures of top designers at major labels. Copping had been the designated successor of the legendary de la Renta, who died of cancer just as Copping came aboard in 2014.
The new creative directors, Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, will make their debut collection in February. And so Monday’s show was the work of a 13-member design team at the company. The team ran out in unison, smiling and waving, at the end of the show.
As for the show itself, it exhibited the usual polish and finesse one has come to expect at a de la Renta show, with perhaps an added casual vibe: The models all wore flat sandals instead of heels. There were some relaxed caftans, and there was even a canvas safari jacket with wide-legged trousers.
