Experience the Rainbow

Color prevails as Saks Fifth Avenue rolls out spring trends at Fashion Week El Paseo

Fashion Week El Paseo - Saks Fifth Avenue: Spring 2012 Collections Sunday, March 18, 2012

Photo By Gerry Maceda

The latest spring looks from Oscar de la Renta, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, and Thakoon led off the evening runway portion of Fashion Week El Paseo. The polished, shiny show, “The Best of Saks Fifth Avenue,” was fresh and exciting — almost like flipping through the spring issue of your favorite fashion magazine and turning up corners on the pages you liked.

The luxury department store covered many of spring’s most popular trends, with sophisticated use of bright, bold color being its — and the season’s — overarching theme.

A Skittles bag-worth of bright temptations paraded down the runway, starting with a Michael Kors maxi dress in a modern neon pink. The leg covering continued with a long accordion skirt in purple and yellow by Alice and Olivia and BCBG, respectively; a blue, floor-length caftan by Emilio Pucci; and a blue and white Roberto Cavalli cotton maxi dress that featured markings resembling Japanese Shibori tie-dye.

Long and flowy was the flavor of the evening. But those wanting to show off their Pilates thigh work, however, weren’t left out of the party. Pants are a must-have item for spring, and Saks showed its skinniest cropped styles in all the colors you were never brave enough to wear. Until now, that is.

Between Rag & Bone’s turquoise skinny jeans, Thakoon’s green paisley cropped pants, and bright orange second-skin denim from the Ralph Lauren Black label, Saks sent a loud-and-clear message that legs should be colorized for spring.

Saks also asserted monochromatic pantsuit, providing “aha!” moment via tangerine and mustard-colored options from Chloe and Stella McCartney and one particularly awesome gold-metallic number from Michael Kors.

Eveningwear was also a focus on the runway. But instead of the pigment saturation seen on Saks’ sportswear, the store showed softer, pastel florals from Dolce & Gabbana that were fit for a garden party.

The showstopper was, by far, Oscar de la Renta’s sequin strapless black-and-white polka dot gown, which raised the question that perhaps this spring isn’t all about color after all — maybe it’s merely about finally having fun with bold clothes that show a sense of personality. Which is exactly what Saks did.

View The Runway Show Below/p>

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