Spring 2011 Series | Runway Review, Part II

I started this series a while ago (in January, to be precise) to showcase looks from the Spring/Summer 2011 ready-to-wear shows. And spring is coming up fast now! The goal from these posts is to draw inspiration from these looks, not necessarily try to replicate them exactly. Ashley from 2 Eyes In The Mirror mentioned in a comment on the first runway post that Hermès was her favorite show “hands-down,” so I’ve made sure to include it here! I’ve paired it with Ralph Lauren and Emilio Pucci to keep up the Western theme for spring.

Ralph Lauren

The Ralph Lauren show made very good use of the color white. It was similar to that at Dolce & Gabbana but with a Western twist. Swap out the floaty blouses and shorts for more structured shirts and high-collared dresses and throw in some leather belts and you’re good to go.

I found a lot of the clothes at Ralph Lauren to be pretty wearable, or at least easy to translate into everyday wear. I really liked the light floral prints for dresses, classic button-downs, and wide belts, although, granted, a lot of the basic silhouettes were exaggerated on the runway (read: pouffy sleeves).

Emilio Pucci

I loved the really rich and vibrant colors on the Emilio Pucci runway, as well as the many gorgeous and flowing dress shapes. The hair and makeup was beautiful and perfect for spring, with hair a little messy and undone, but still shiny and healthy, and a natural, bronzed face. (More beauty shots can be found in the details here.)

My favorite look from the entire show was the orange dress on the left. I’m usually not a big fan of orange, but it looked fantastic with the leather boots turquoise bracelets. The soft pleats on the fabric were also a big plus! I can’t see myself ever wearing something like this in real life, but I do love the color combination of leather/warm brown and turquoise, as well as the slightly sheer fabric for blouses.

I thought the look above left most easily translated into everyday — the leather jacket over the floaty spring dress is a classic combination for transitioning into the hotter weather if toned down a bit from the runway version.

Hermès

This show was incredible and I can see why it was Ashley’s favorite. I loved the sharp tailoring, color scheme, leather details, and the entire runway set. While some of the looks are not something I could ever see myself wearing, the riding pants are Hermès were perfect. We’ve seen riding pants a lot this year in fashion, and it’s great to see that Hermès is continuing the trend in the spring.

I also thought that Hermès was able to pull off the monochromatic trend quite subtly in some of its looks. Top left, Abbey Lee Kershaw looks very ladylike in high-waisted paper bag trousers and a tucked in tee. The black-on-black ensembles that popped up every so often on the runway made great use of different textures (sheer, leather, silk…) to differentiate between individual pieces (we also see this concept bottom right with the light cream outfit worn by Jac).

What do you think of the Western-style ready-to-wear looks at Ralph Lauren, Emilio Pucci, and Hermès?

{Sources: Ralph Lauren and Emilio Pucci runway photos photographed by Monica Feudi/GoRunway.com, accessed via Style.com. Hermès runway photos by Yannis Vlamos/GoRunway.com, accessed via Style.com.}