Sari Gueron

NEW YORK, February 2, 2008
By Meenal Mistry
"I love fancy for evening and very casual for day. In one collection, it felt strange," Gueron told Style.com, explaining why she's dividing her creative attentions, freeing her original label from the restraints of daywear, and launching a new contemporary line this season, called
simply Sari.

Fall at the original Sari Gueron, therefore, was all about a return to the cocktail looks with which she first made her name. And it was her most luxurious effort yet. Working with yards of delicate lace and tulle and buttery leather, and amping up the embellishment, Gueron was in experimental mode. That's just where a young designer with a fledgling business should be, and some pieces did successfully push into untrod territory. A lovely abstract Japanese floral cut into a tunic, a flowy asymmetrical dress, and drop-waist frocks with flat, tiered ruffles were the expression of what Gueron calls "the bohemian me." Lace cardigans and a tulle skirt embroidered with thin strips of leather had a gossamer touch.

Other looks, though, were heavy, like a black leather collarless coat and full skirt, and an overwrought ruffled opera coat. Even the many iterations of the drop-waist ruffles began to feel a bit much. When it came to gowns, an unfussy ivory-and-black floral tank worn over a tiered evening skirt was an easy winner over dresses with excessive fabric weighing them down.