"People have been saying I'm too sexy," Olympia Le-Tan said before her
show tonight. She was referring to the fact that some reviewers feel her
penchant for tongue-in-cheek pinup references can detract from her
clothes. And so tonight she favored artsy charm over any overt displays
of T & A. Happily, there was still an infectious oomph to this
richly expressed version of that near-universal feminine fantasy of
being a ballerina.
Le-Tan threw in some drug references—mushrooms in her
press release, LSD in conversation—and a shot, too, of Kate Bush, who
was on the soundtrack. That, though, was a prism. The heart of this
collection was a boho evocation of the Ballets Russes, mediated via
prints drawn by the designer's dad, Pierre, along with harlequin
decoration, tulle (inevitably), and ankle-strapped Louboutins. Stephen
Jones' Nureyev feather crowns, plus spangly tops and the ballet-themed
bags all added to the sense of fun.
