Imitation of Christ Spring 2011 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Imitation of Christ

NEW YORK, September 15, 2010

By Meenal Mistry

Tara Subkoff returned to the runway tonight after a five-year absence that included losing and regaining the rights to her brand name, a stint with mass brand Bebe, and a bout with a brain tumor. "[The industry] definitely feels different than when I started ten years ago," she said backstage. "It's gotten a lot more corporate." But Subkoff has changed, too. "I'm excited to do this in a way I've never done before, which is—big surprise, you guys—all about the clothes," she added.

Those clothes were shown on a grass runway with nighttime footage from the L.A. County State Fair projected onto a pair of scrims set along the path. Most could best be described as a modern vision of what a mildly eccentric fifties Hollywood starlet might wear lounging about the house: lace and chiffon tap shorts and rompers, sheer T-shirt dresses trimmed with lace ruffles, and also sheer robelike jersey and chiffon trenches. The problem was, there were few real clothes in which to actually leave the house, unless you're getting married. Subkoff explained that Imitation is now a contemporary line—thus all the cotton jersey—that she'd like to take to the masses. It's great to see her back in the fray—especially as she's reteaming with her original collaborator, Matt Damhave, who will be designing Imitation's menswear. (There was only an all-T-shirt teaser of Damhave's work tonight at the end of the show.) Still, Subkoff may have to offer a bit more substance in order to play in that highly competitive mass arena.

See all from Imitation of Christ › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	Acne	ADAM
A Détacher	Akris	Alberta Ferretti
Albino	Alexander McQueen	Alexander Wang
Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexis Mabille	Alice + Olivia
Altuzarra	Andrew Gn	Anna Sui
Ann Demeulemeester	Anne Valérie Hash	Antonio Berardi
Antonio Marras	Aquilano.Rimondi	Araks
Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Tfank	Basso & Brooke
BCBG Max Azria	Behnaz Sarafpour	Bensoni
Betsey Johnson	Betty Jackson	Bibhu Mohapatra
Bill Blass	Blumarine	Bottega Veneta
Brioni	Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calvin Klein Collection	Carlos Miele
Carolina Herrera	Carven	Celine
Cerruti	Chado Ralph Rucci	Chalayan
Chanel	Charles Anastase	Charlotte Ronson
Chloé	Chris Benz	Christian Cota
Christian Dior	Christian Siriano	Christopher Kane
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Cushnie et Ochs	Custo Barcelona	Cynthia Rowley
Cynthia Steffe

D&G	Damir Doma	Davidelfin
David Koma	Dennis Basso	Derek Lam
Diane von Furstenberg	Diesel Black Gold	DKNY
Dolce & Gabbana	Donna Karan	Doo.Ri
Douglas Hannant	Dries Van Noten	Dsquared²
Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Elise Øverland	Emanuel Ungaro	Emilio de la Morena
Emilio Pucci	Emporio Armani	Erdem
Erin Fetherston	Etro