NEW YORK — Ballerinas — delicate, feminine and graceful — were the inspiration for Carmen Marc Valvo's fall collection at New York Fashion Week.
In his notes, Valvo adapted the Emily Dickinson poem "I cannot dance upon my toes." He inserted his own verses about "Chantilly lace, like folded white wings of a swan," and "chiffon and organza, lighter than the perfume of lilies."
The runway was full of eveningwear, including a black strapless lace gown with tiers of strategically placed chiffon covered in beads, and a one-shoulder copper metallic gown with a draped bodice, both of which Valvo said in an interview Sunday he thought were red-carpet worthy.
The same could be said for the black-and-pewter embroidered V-neck that evoked the nighttime sky, or the beaded black coat worn over an embroidered tulle gown that picked up the lights of the Times Square venue as the model walked near the windows.
There was a casual elegance — as casual as one can get in chiffon cocktail dresses — with the way sable-knitted stoles were just tossed over one shoulder and gently wrapped around the neck.
Katie Couric, a friend of Valvo's, sat along the front row snapping photos.
But could you get away with wearing a champagne-colored tulle gown that gives the impression of bare skin on TV?