You`d never know that short skirts are the major fashion trend of the fall season from the way the ladies looked-onstage and off-at last week`s Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke`s fashion show in Medinah Temple.
However, the messages-fashion and otherwise-that did come through loud and clear during the annual fashion extravaganza on that mammoth stage included:
– Opulence is definitely In, with a capital I, and that means ball gowns and beading plus a plethora of lynx and sable and mink, as well as the most expensive broadtail that James Galanos could lay his hands on.
– The colors of the fall season are black, black and white, black, black with a color, black-in that order.
– Celebrities still are the biggest applause-getters-with sports types and particularly sports wives (Diana Ditka, Nancy McCaskey among them) gaining new prominence and outdistancing TV personalities by seven claps to one-with two major exceptions: Maria Tallchief Paschen always wins over an adoring audience with her unique sort-of-graceful glide/slide across the stage-no matter what she`s wearing-and kids always bring the house down, the smaller the better, especially if they shyly give a teeny tiny wave to the oohing crowd.
– Weddings are back. In triplicate.
Though the St. Luke`s show has been known as Chicago`s most prestigious, social fashion show for 61 times now, regulars know that its appeal is a combination of size (some 4,000 people fit into Medinah`s auditorium);
prominent names (models are all ”real” people, as opposed to professional models); razzmatazz and razzle-dazzle (show-biz tactics like fog machines and bagpipers and waltzing men in white tie and tails-but, alas, no animals this year); charity (the Woman`s Board of the medical center has raised $5 million over the years); and, oh yes, stylish clothes, too.
SHORT, PLUS As for fashion messages, participating stores apparently wanted to reassure women that short is merely a minuscule aspect of fashion this fall, and they went overboard by downplaying upwardly mobile skirts and
concentrating on hemlines of all lengths (including some dowdy ones), floor-length evening gowns, a few pants (including a sleek brown broadtail pantsuit modeled by Abra Prentice Wilkin) and clothes that call for a strong sense of individual style (like the exquisite handpainted long suedes by Chicagoan Paige Mayberry for Grass Orchids, shown by Janis in the store`s first St. Luke`s appearance).
There were, however, some fashion highlights.
Bonwit Teller`s presentation of flamboyant froufrou and frills, bustles and bows and beaded sheer tops by Parisian Paul-Louis Orrie came closest to the frivolous fashion mood of Christian Lacroix, fashion`s man of the moment. Lord & Taylor made a strong statement in favor of short, black glamorous evening dresses by Oscar de la Renta and Scaasi, even though ”short” meant somewhere around rather than above the knees.
Saks Fifth Avenue featured Adolfo`s very pretty evening dresses in black or black and white in a ratio of two (short) to six (long), which may be a prediction of the way Chicagoans will be dressing at fall galas.
A quartet of fur salons put on a spectacular display of lush and luxurious furs: Neiman-Marcus featured brief black or white styles by Galanos; Thomas E. McElroy showed natural and colored furs; and Revillon presented a dramatic collection by Carolina Herrera. I. Magnin`s Carol and Irwin Ware filled the stage with nine dancing couples wearing superlong coats from Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld, while a scowling Irwin played the role of the King of Siam.
A LIGHT TOUCH
”Let`s not take fashion so seriously” seemed to be the refreshing viewpoint of Terri D. Ltd., with its spirited presentation of Eleanor P. Brenner`s gray, peach and butterscotch washable silks with skirts and pants in all shapes and lengths possible and accessorized with, of course, sequined top hats.
Carson Pirie Scott & Co. rated kudos for the way it accessorized George Simonton`s daytime clothes with fur muffs and hats, touches that said, ”Look at me: This is fall, `87.”
Marshall Field & Co. closed the show with 10 wedding guests dressed to the nines (Zarada Gowenlock bedecked in red-beaded and -fringed Bob Mackie, for example, is not a sit-by-the-fireside look) before bringing on not one but three brides and their respective attendants (in emerald, ruby and sapphire velvets), a move that rocked tradition.
Hanchen Stern, doyenne of St. Luke`s shows, diplomatically granted that showing a trio was indeed ”interesting, though I really do like the tradition of a single bride.”
Sipping on soft drinks at Grandma Gebhard`s on Michigan Avenue before heading back to Wilmette and Winnetka, four St. Luke`s regular attendees arrived at a split decision. ”A finale is more spectacular if you have one bride,” said Nancy Ritter, with Katie Vail agreeing, ”It`s diluted by having three.”
Not so, according to their buddies Mary Kay Burke and Betty Raglin, who seemed to echo the philosophy of St. Luke`s shows: ”The more the better. You might hate something, but then comes along something you just love.” –
