the other critics

DVF and Ruffian Win Raves for Leopard Print; Critics Mixed on Ohne Titel

The next batch of reviews are in, and they’re almost uniformly positive.

Diane Von Furstenberg
Critics praised Von Furstenberg’s “fun, feisty” assortment of wild prints and jumbled-up layers, admiring the easy wearability of the clothes. The designer mixed fabrics and patterns with skill (“Leopard! Plaid! Feather! Folkloric! Tribal! Mongolian! Snake! Leather!” enthused British Vogue), resulting in a look that Suzy Menkes of the IHT deemed “appealing and upbeat.Style.com loved the evening gowns, which signaled a transition into “full-on glamour mode” and reviewers unanimously coveted the “fanciful headgear” topped with jaunty pom-poms. Most agreed with FWD’s assertion that the show provided a “departure from DVF’s usual polish,” but Cathy Horyn of the Times found an “old-favorite that claimed your girlish heart” in most all of the charmingly styled looks.

Watch a slideshow and video of the Diane Von Furstenberg collection.

Ruffian
Ruffian presented a “fabulously chic Parisian collection” for fall, adding inventive twists to classic Ruffian ruffles and artsy prints. Recalling the duo’s recent foray into hippie-inspired styles for spring, Style.com remarked that this more refined, ladylike collection “is just more their speed,” and considered this “the Ruffian boys at their most sophisticated.” Though she worried that some of the leopard-print ensembles “border[ed] on drag,” Cathy Horyn generally approved of the parade of “campy French fashion queens.” FWD praised modern touches, like a “perfect cropped trouser,” and WWD cheered the “nice harmony between military prep and downtown cool,” though it also lamented some “unfortunate feather pieces.”

Watch a slideshow of the Ruffian collection.

Ohne Titel
The critics showed mild approval for the biker-chic fall collection from 2009 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winners Alexa Adams and Flora Gill, worrying that it didn’t stand out enough. Cathy Horyn found the lineup of knit dresses and zippered jackets “undeniably appealing,” but noted the “looming influence” of fellow leather and fur lover Rick Owens in the pair’s designs. WWD thought the tailoring and construction “elevated the collection’s chic rocker look,” and British Vogue agreed that “one could really appreciate the painstaking details.” But in the end, critics weren’t fully swayed. “[W]ere there enough new ideas here to make the audience sit up and take note?” asked Style.com rhetorically.

Watch a slideshow of the Ohne Titel collection.

DVF and Ruffian Win Raves for Leopard Print; Critics Mixed on Ohne Titel