Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
I mean, that skirt is starting to go somewhere okay, or is at least asking for directions to that place while also punching it into its iPhone GPS. The top, however, is something I absolutely loathe. It's like a sleep mask for your breasts.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Lazy pseudo-80s prom retread.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
There might be something here, theoretically, possibly. I'm a bit worried about the shape of the skirt, but it's enough better than the two that came before it that I'm calming down.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
And then we're RIGHT back to a cut of dress I saw a lot in ninth grade.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
A large skirt is always a good start, but is there something unusually ham-handed about this? Or am I just too far down Disappointment Street?
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
But like... I mean, this feels like something she just threw on, and possibly stole from someone's dry cleaning bags. It's not transportive.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Kendall Jenner to the rescue -- has anyone ever said that? -- with a gown that has real potential if styled lovingly. I mean, it's a lovely base, but let's see some accessories, stylists.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
This feels more squarely aimed at the red carpet crowd, but without any special flourishes.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
This feels a bit like a pitch to Michelle Obama. I'm not sure it's going to work.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
And then WHAAAAT. This has the unpleasant odor of being a cheap knockoff of something else. I'm not saying it IS; just that it looks off-kilter and only half-baked.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Sure, okay.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
No thank you, Bruce Wayne. Go back to designing winged mammal costumes.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
"Sorry, Older Lady Customer. We forgot to throw you a bone until just now."
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Beautiful color, potentially great concept, but possibly too much like an ode to scrap ribbon.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
I wish this were more elegant, and less like, say, a Badgley Mischka diffusion line.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
The long version's silhouette is clunky and without much charm.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
I've been SO crabby and dissatisfied that I'm going to withhold judgment on this until it finds its way to the red carpet. Can Freida Pinto sell it to me? Maybe.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Oy.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
For the posh uptown lady, this is perfectly nice. I actually like the pattern and color combo, so HARK: A REPRIEVE FROM MY WHINING.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
What a lovely throw-pillow.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Some model is probably going to wear this in Cannes or at the Met Ball, just because it's so leggy.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
That is pretty and achingly ladylike. It'd be great on one of the Masters of Sex ladies -- I'm thinking mostly of Caitlin FitzGerald.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Lizzy Caplan might be the one to wear the version with a mix of patterns.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Ugh, NO. This even looks TERRIBLE on the model's body. It's so clumsy.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Another one that might have its moment on the right wearer. The deep red really is great.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
OdlR for Spanx. (And also, something that's been seen 100 times, no?)
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Those two bows at the waist are a bit close. And perhaps one too many. I don't know. I am LESS mad at this than at other things?
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Another one for the Wintours and Barbara Walterses of the world.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
I love the color, and I love a snuggly coat. It makes her look boxy, but... there's a shortage of desire in this slideshow so I'm going to take what I can get.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Well, and obviously I can't be mad at a skirt with Hs all over it.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
And I REALLY can't be upset with an H coat. We are meant to be.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
I can't with white and cream.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
This is a BETTER combo? But I would love to have seen the shirt reworked or expanded upon into a companion outfit that's dreamier.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
That little coat is just for you, Anna.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
This coat is JUST FOR ME. MEEEE.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
Keep the skirt, lose the serving wench shirt.
Oscar De La Renta - Runway - Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015
This one, I wish existed in floor length as well, just because a properly cut big sweeping ball gown skirt in that could be amazing. It's still cute, though. We're ending on a high note.
I'm not trying to be a crank for the sake of it -- Oscar is one of my favorite shows every season, because it's just a reliable soak in some serious elegance. And most of this collection lacked that for me -- there wasn't as much imagination or wonder, and at times it felt like you could convince me this was another line entirely. I'm hoping it's just a speed bump as they transition from one era to the next.