Oleg Cassini's legendary evening gowns were the high point of the Vogue fashion show in the ballroom of the Little America Hotel recently.
Cassini was in town for the show and to promote his new namesake fragrance: Cassini. ZCMI sponsored both the show and a mammoth advertising campaign to launch the new fragrance.The show featured fall fashions with an emphasis on gold, olive and gray tones. Sarong skirts played a strong role in the show, as did city shorts and the retrospective swing coats and jackets reminiscent of the early '60s.
The show portrayed a more conservative interpretation of 1990 fall fashions, eschewing the bold colors and extremely short skirts touted by fashion magazines. Instead, the ZCMI show emphasized aspects of this season's fashions that are too often eclipsed by the clamor over the return of miniskirts, orange and purple.
A large segment of the show was devoted to the country flavor in this season's fashions, seen in the abundant use of tweeds, wool weaves with a nubbier quality and suedes. Riding boots and cowboy boots both make a strong showing this season, nicely setting off the equestrian-inspired jackets, skirts and dresses.
Suede appeared everywhere in the show, even in city shorts. The shorts - which have been a summer fashion staple for the past two season - carry forward into fall for the first time this year. The shorts and the sarong skirts make the transition into fall in heavier fabrics and looser interpretations: sarong skirts showed up as part of a dress and the shorts didn't have to be paired with a jacket.
Except for the shorts and sarong skirts, skirt lengths hovered at the knee through most of the show. A few women modeled full skirts and split skirts that swooped to the ankle and several of the country fashions dropped below the knee.
The ZCMI show passed over the loud limes, purples and pinks from the '60s and '70s in favor of the more elegant burnished tones of fall. Last season's mustard - a color that didn't sell well in Utah stores - has softened into rich gold tones. The richer shade of gold was the color hit of the show.
The Cassini gowns and a trip down the runway by the beloved Cassini himself topped the show. In many of his gowns, heavily sequined bodices topped gathered, swingy skirts of chiffon and silk for a look that was ornate without feeling constrictive.
Editors from Vogue Magazine provided the commentary for the show. Tickets were $18. Proceeds went to benefit the Salt Lake County Medical Auxiliary. All male models in the show were Salt Lake area doctors or the husbands of doctors.