EMANUEL’S MAD LOVE
“I do what I want to do,” declared Emanuel Ungaro after his show. And he sure does. The collection he presented Tuesday morning — romantic, wild and occasionally mad — was probably the most individual of the Paris couture so far.
It started with long, floaty floral chiffon dresses worn with flame-colored unconstructed jackets. They were followed by his baroque combinations of colors and fabrics: A dress with a tight pink bodice and a long, printed and sequined skirt, for example, under a baby blue wool jacket trimmed in brown. It was a veritable riot of color that even Ungaro’s atelier questioned. “I told them not to break my balls,” he said.
Ungaro shares Paris’s preoccupation with long skirts, whether real women will accept them or not. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone actually hitting the streets in many of these skimpy and sultry clothes. But then again, the kind of women who can afford these elaborate, and often beautiful, creations, are rich enough to live in a bubble of sensuous security — not to mention big rooms.
In many ways, it seemed as if Ungaro was trying to demonstrate his diversity with this collection. His Emanuel collection, probably the hottest thing in bridge these days, is simple and to the point. This couture, however, was like flexing his muscles, sparing no sequins, draping or shocking pink marabou. “This is my language, my heart, my dreams,” the designer said, and no one doubts it.