The Fashion Statement: Orange You Glad...?

by Kristin Young (RSS feed)
Sep 16th 2009 at 8:00AM

Who can forget the scene in The Devil Wears Prada in which Miranda (Meryl Streep) lectures Andy (Anne Hathaway) on cerulean blue?

...I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? Cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.

The rant is memorable no only because it was snarky, but also because it was informative. That's exactly how it happens. Silhouettes and colors take on lives of their own and, before you know it, you have a full-fledged trend.

Halfway through New York fashion week, there's indication orange could be the next cerulean blue, in a manner of speaking (purple and red have been in the limelight recently).

Designers presented several orange "groups" -- three or four looks in one color scheme -- in their collections. Donna Karan's orange gowns and dresses were striking against a mostly pale palette of grays, silver and white. At Carolina Herrera (pictured above), orange gowns and dresses played beautifully off of an array of purple gowns. Carlos Miele showed a killer short cocktail dress with a racer back, one of the highlights of his show.

If that's the color of spring, thank goodness it's flattering. Orange you glad we aren't talking about mustard green?

Gallery: The Fashion Statement: Orange You Glad...?