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By Isabella Redmond Styles
POSTED March 9, 2011
Aussie Designer Collette Dinnigan Finds Her
‘Portrait of a Woman’ for Fall/Winter 2011
‘Portrait of a Woman’ for Fall/Winter 2011
Australian designer Collette Dinnigan has earned herself a reputation for creating flirty party frocks of lace and jewels that cry out for a flash bulb. Dinnigan’s fall/winter 2011 collection didn’t
stray from this seemingly winning combination, but it was certainly a more somber foray than we might have expected from the Aussie fashion darling. Perhaps it was the collection’s
supposed aim to ‘encapsulate the mystique of a woman.’ Dinnigan’s first look was a neat wool coat encrusted with jet beading on the collar and cuffs, worn with metallic lace brocade
pants. The smart tailoring was an homage to ‘true Argentinean equestrian.’ Compared to Dinnigan’s usual dazzle-fest, it was refreshing to see an opener that was glitzy without bashing
you over the head with titillation.
Whether it’s what Taylor Swift is desperate to wear to her next red carpet appearance is uncertain. The dotted tights, fur accents and (fractionally) longer skirt lengths suggested Old
Hollywood rather than 'The Hills' and was all the more successful for it. For the most part the color palette remained seasonally traditional - black, gray and navy with the occasional
metallic, which is why the burst of peacock blue on a high-waisted jacquard skirt worked so well. As did the similarly hued ‘Domino Dots’ print that followed it. Lace is clearly a matter very
close to Dinnigan’s heart and her passion for the fabric shows no signs of waning - though she did add intrigue by experimenting with size. As the collection progressed, the size of lace
used increased allowing us to zoom in on the detail. While the full skirted gowns and 50s style shirtwaisters allowed us to get a good look at the embroidery, they didn’t seem wholly
appropriate for Dinnigan’s celebutante fan-base.
The designer aptly chose to title her fall/winter 2011 collection ‘Portrait of a Woman’. Similar to John Singer Sargent’s of Madame X and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, Dinnigan’s pieces were
enticing without giving everything away at once. With this collection, Dinnigan is stepping into territory which is more thoughtful and demure than her past collections and is all the more
intriguing thanks to that shift. Yet whether her starlet clientele will be swapping bejeweled body con for tights and a shirtwaister is another matter entirely.
stray from this seemingly winning combination, but it was certainly a more somber foray than we might have expected from the Aussie fashion darling. Perhaps it was the collection’s
supposed aim to ‘encapsulate the mystique of a woman.’ Dinnigan’s first look was a neat wool coat encrusted with jet beading on the collar and cuffs, worn with metallic lace brocade
pants. The smart tailoring was an homage to ‘true Argentinean equestrian.’ Compared to Dinnigan’s usual dazzle-fest, it was refreshing to see an opener that was glitzy without bashing
you over the head with titillation.
Whether it’s what Taylor Swift is desperate to wear to her next red carpet appearance is uncertain. The dotted tights, fur accents and (fractionally) longer skirt lengths suggested Old
Hollywood rather than 'The Hills' and was all the more successful for it. For the most part the color palette remained seasonally traditional - black, gray and navy with the occasional
metallic, which is why the burst of peacock blue on a high-waisted jacquard skirt worked so well. As did the similarly hued ‘Domino Dots’ print that followed it. Lace is clearly a matter very
close to Dinnigan’s heart and her passion for the fabric shows no signs of waning - though she did add intrigue by experimenting with size. As the collection progressed, the size of lace
used increased allowing us to zoom in on the detail. While the full skirted gowns and 50s style shirtwaisters allowed us to get a good look at the embroidery, they didn’t seem wholly
appropriate for Dinnigan’s celebutante fan-base.
The designer aptly chose to title her fall/winter 2011 collection ‘Portrait of a Woman’. Similar to John Singer Sargent’s of Madame X and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, Dinnigan’s pieces were
enticing without giving everything away at once. With this collection, Dinnigan is stepping into territory which is more thoughtful and demure than her past collections and is all the more
intriguing thanks to that shift. Yet whether her starlet clientele will be swapping bejeweled body con for tights and a shirtwaister is another matter entirely.
