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Beige Is the Navy Blue of Elie Tahari

If you really want to get a handle on what American women might be wearing next spring then a good place to start is with Elie Tahari, whose latest crisp and clean collection suggested that practical elegance will be a fashion buzz term of 2010.

Tahari has never been a super directional designer, but when it comes to interpreting affordable chic, he has an extremely good track record. His latest ideas were largely inspired by North Africa, so Saharan hues dominated in this collection, presented in his mid town Manhattan headquarters on Thursday, the first official day of the eight-day New York runway season.

“I was seeing Morocco, its desert colors, its romance,” Tahari explained to FWD as a swarm of retailers and editors swung by to see the presentation. Unveiled on a sandy colored catwalk, the collection was all about natty American sportswear, with lots of cool, clever and approachable looks that did not demand too much nerve for women to wear.

His best ideas were low-slung trousers, cut with forgiving curves but never too much attitude, great little linen shorts paired with super light boucle bolero jackets, and jodhpur style pants with fabric belts, shown with crisp cotton tanks. Finished with lots of gold, in liquid looking tunics or splashed on to T-shirts and ruffle shirts, and complimented with cork high heels and purses, this was a smooth statement of plausible style.

Tahari also showed men’s looks in this collection, and though not as strong as his women’s ideas, there were plenty of hip new looks. Men’s wear designers have been conjuring up sporty nylon bomber jackets with semi-transparent fabrics for q couple of seasons without, however, really convincing that many men to actual wear them. Tahari, however, sent out a series of off-on-a-date and on-to-the-nightclub looks that will win plenty of fans among downtown gents.

“We’ve been working hard to respond to the market, either by reducing our price points or creating clothes in colors like sand and beige that will be longer wearing,” added Tahari, who expects this collection to retail in 300 locations.

Giving the people what they want is sometimes derided in fashion circles as being predictable, but in the current climate it seems to make lots of sense, especially, as was the case in this show, the clothes flatter and fall with an admirably jaunty aplomb.

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