In a graden of flowers

Stella McCartney and Dries van Noten, following on the rosy heels of the Balenciaga show on Tuesday, are two designers who clearly belong in the camp that favors country-club garden prints.

Those at Ms. McCartney’s show Thursday morning came fast, furious and in three ways: as faint bouquets on layers of silk georgette, for minidresses; as a riotous wildflower motif on a silk voile jumpsuit; and as a woodblock-like paisley on crepe de Chine, in a short coat and a long dress that dangled from minuscule shoulder straps. They looked delicate, not dainty.

For far too long, making pretty things has been a pursuit that designers have treated derisively, sometimes claiming to do so with a sense of irony, favoring the jolie laide (or pretty-ugly) or masking a floral print beneath a black motorcycle jacket. But Ms. McCartney’s designs seem increasingly sincere, without cynicism toward clothes that may be either too girly or ones that customers actually want to wear.

***** Source:

• The New York Times

• Stella McCartney