Roksanda Ilincic Resort 2012 Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Roksanda Ilincic

NEW YORK, June 16, 2011

By Matthew Schneier

"Effortless glamour" was the Roksanda Ilincic brief for Resort, Marlene Dietrich and the sirens of the thirties her muses. You could feel their sultry pull in the turbans that decked out the looks and in the long robe gowns and kulats. But would even the Blue Angel have worn something this particular shade of acid lime?

Still, bolder than bold is the Ilincic project. Old as the inspirations may occasionally be, her instinct toward big and bright is very now. Each season, she explained, she selects a color to anchor the collection (all the more necessary, she added, because she doesn't do print). Last Resort, it was lemon yellow; for Spring, Bubble Yum pink; and now, that eye-popping green. She dubbed it "fluorescent grass."

A massively voluminous, floor-length shift in that shade was showstopping, but perhaps a few acres too grassy. Ilincic's take-no-prisoners color sense worked best when applied more lightly, as the piping on a wrap skirt or the tie-on peplums that added pop to whatever they touched. The designer favors flowy-but-flinty fabrics like silk georgette and wool crepe, so it was interesting to see raffia introduced to add texture and heft. It filled out the sleeves of a cocooning wool coat, drew the eye to the bodice of a chic black jumpsuit.

Ilincic used flashes of flesh, peeking through cutout tops and dresses, as accent colors, too. Even her plainest, most commercial pieces, like the round-shouldered day dresses that help drive her business, are eye-catching and unapologetic—grand qualities both. Glamour, after all, is occasionally effortless, but rarely shy. The meek may be in line to inherit the earth, but they'll never shop Roksanda.

See all from Roksanda Ilincic › Timeline

A.L.C.	Acne	ADAM
Akris	Alberta Ferretti	Alexander McQueen
Alexander Wang	Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alice + Olivia
Altuzarra	Andrew Gn	Anna Sui
Antonio Berardi	Antonio Marras	Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Band of Outsiders	Barbara Bui
Barbara Tfank	BCBG Max Azria	Behnaz Sarafpour
Bibhu Mohapatra	Bottega Veneta	Brioni
Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calvin Klein Collection	Carlos Miele
Carolina Herrera	Carven	Celine
Chado Ralph Rucci	Chanel	Chloé
Chloë Sevigny for O.C.	Chris Benz	Christian Dior
Christopher Kane	Collette Dinnigan	Costume National
Cushnie et Ochs	Cynthia Rowley

Daryl K	Derek Lam	Diane von Furstenberg
Diesel Black Gold	DKNY	Donna Karan
Doo.Ri	Douglas Hannant	Dsquared²

Elie Saab	Elie Tahari	Emanuel Ungaro
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston