Dresses Are Confections

Wood nymphs are moving in. At Jean Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, and elsewhere, models in gauzy frocks and wild hair looked like they had been romping with satyrs.

Clothes are a playground. Bits of flowers, ribbons, appliqué, beads—designers including Carolina Herrera and Louise Gray scattered their dresses with joyful decoration.

Plumage is here to stay. The feathers that landed on fall’s collections multiplied in spring. Giambattista Valli’s minidress looked like a newly hatched chick, while Oscar de la Renta played for drama with a spray of black coq feathers.

Dresses Are Confections