IF there's one word that repeatedly crops up when Americans talk about fashion, it's saleable. In the US, commerce rules with an absolute authority and if clothes aren't reckoned to possess saleability, then they're of little interest.
It's a totally different approach to that taken in Europe where, with rare exceptions, the term commercial (our equivalent of saleable) is only used pejoratively. Presumably that's why so many talented European designers fail to stay in business despite winning plenty of accolades.
The merits of the American approach are self evident but, as New York Fashion Week amply demonstrated, so too are its disadvantages. Not least of these is the stifling of creativity that was apparent in so many of the shows.
Designers were trying so hard to please their market that they avoided taking any risks and followed established trends. In particular for next season, American fashion is relying heavily on the current impetus given to 1970s revivalism by designers such as Gucci and Prada, both of who exerted a dangerously dominant influence over many collections.
In a country otherwise so brimming with confidence, designers are disconcertingly cautious about taking risks. That's as much true of small labels as the country's three biggest names, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, all of whom employ large teams to feed current trends into their work.
It was clear that Karan, for example, has become very uncertain of her own abilities and is now chasing almost every fad, including military greatcoats and belted trouser suits which will turn up everywhere next season at prices greatly below her own. Klein too opted for the same trouser suits and coats, although in his case these were stripped of all extraneous detail, taking minimalist dressing just about as far as it can go before disappearing into nonexistence. Working within a tight palette of almost exclusively dark brown aged to give this collection some interest by employing rich fabrics, including cashmere for day and silk jersey for evening. This was a show strictly for the fashion purist.
Alternatively, American designers choose to ignore what's happening at the moment in fashion and just produce more of what their reliable customer base would like. This appears to be the case for such names as Bill Blass and Carolina Herrera, both of whose latest collections were heavy on the kind of skirt and jacket suits that have become almost a uniform over the last decade.
By far the best of this group were Oscar de la Renta and Richard Tyler. Australian born Tyler produced a collection that while not desperately imaginative had plenty of the right lean, clean tailored style that is so right just now. Jackets, often of frockcoat length, were darted at the waistline while trousers were given generous flares.
Oscar de la Renta, meanwhile, began as he intended his clientele should continue, with a strong sense of pampering luxury. That meant sheared mink lined coats and snugly fitting sweaters as well as rich double faced wool suits in bold Prince of Wales checks. For evening, like most other designers, de la Renta is proposing lace; in his case, a rich gold made into little bolero jackets with either matching skirts or else combined with black velvet pants. Undoubtedly saleable it's hardly original.
Thankfully, there were a few members of the younger generation whose work managed to demonstrate both characteristics Among the best was the show presented by Marc Jacobs: tight and compact, it showed a vision in many ways similar to that of Oscar de la Renta but this opulence had a freshness missing from the older designer's collection. Americans love metallic hues and so there was plenty of gold and silver in Jacobs's collection, whether for leather skirts or glazed trench coats. Sweaters came in silk/cashmere mixes while for evenings, the designer indulged himself and his audience with gold lace beaded and silver velvet panne dresses.
Marc Jacobs's contemporary, Anna Sui, was another of the week's successes with a collection seemingly inspired by the film Carrington but actually recalling the 1920s through the 1970s of Ken Russell and Biba. Sui took retro style and updated it not once but twice for the present decade. So her chocolate brown, belted trouser suits with flared hipster pants were totally in the contemporary spirit, as were the belted, knee length shirtdresses with top stitching detail and farm hugging sweaters. Her long coats in leather or velvet wouldn't have looked out of place on the King's Road 20 years ago but they comfortably held their own in this show as well, together with the drop waisted chiffon cocktail dresses that fell in ruffles down to just below the knee.
Right now, Jacobs and Sui are two of the strongest names in American fashion, along with irrepressible showman Isaac Mizrahi. Like the others, he's tapping into two decades ago for inspiration, although some of his flares were wider than anything ever seen before. When reined in, however, they looked great as part of a fine check wool trouser suit or else teamed with a knitted twinset.
Mizrahi offered as many belted cardigans as jackets, both for day and evening in the latter instance working well with gold brocade trousers. And again, his coats are floor length with narrow shoulders and darted waists. His, preference for after hours next season is chiffon jersey, a wonderfully fluid fabric in bold colours that looked particularly well for halterneck long dresses.
As a collection, it had a coherence rare for New York as well as a sense of assured verve. That's what is missing most from American fashion: confidence that talent will find an audience.