Lepore rocks NY runway; view her styles here

2008 Lepore Collection

Gallery

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL

ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — There were no rules of the runway for Nanette Lepore: Stripes were mixed with florals, bright orange and pink blended with gray and beige, and linen was paired with lace.

Lepore was inspired by Picasso for the collection presented Monday as part of New York Fashion Week.

She used a lot of all-over prints, especially on wispy below-the-knee dresses, including an adorable strapless collage-floral sarong and flounce dress. Shorter dresses that seemed like mini-kaftans were called “swimdresses.”

Pants were short, too, with exaggerated wide legs but otherwise tailored and ready to go to work. She paired them with a series of one-shoulder tops or a jacket with a bow.

Lepore couldn’t decide if one swirl-print number was pants or a dress, so she called it “pants-dress,” but from the audience’s perspective it looked like a jumpsuit — which is becoming increasingly ubiquitous.

Coats were strong — an olive one with pink embroidery was a strange combination worth checking out.

Like many of her peers, Lepore outfits models in shoes that she also designs. She has a higher-end signature shoe label but she does kicks for Keds, too, and there was one shoe from that collection — a canvas wedge with an ankle strap — that might give espadrilles a run for their money next year.