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Celine: Getting That Polished Paris Moment

Celine, a brand that’s been in search of its true identity of late, took a few steps closer to its source this season with a spring summer collection 2007 that said Chic on the Seine.

This was a collection that combined style with practicality - snazzy trenches cut, exotically collared curvy jackets and inventive trench-dresses with military hints were all strong.

Celine’s creative director Ivana Omazic used silver satins, floaty white taffeta, and ecru cottons in a super summery palette that felt right. She pretty much eschewed prints, except for some great abstract blotches on just one A-line dress.

Though targeted at the career woman, Omazic likes a racy Celine gal, sending out sheer tops, revealing web-pattern dresses and some sultry new swimming suits.

“It wanted this collection to be about the contrast between lightness and heaviness,” Celine’s creative director Ivana Omazic told FWD backstage.

Ivana cuts a mean evening dress whether in silvery silk satin or black trimmed white chiffon – the cocktail on model Diana Dondoe was a particularly strong look – and the Japanese-style slanted wedges and V-shaped bags shows she’s getting the accessories right.

Yet, somehow, the collection still seems caught somewhere near the Alps, between the sleek finish of Milan, where Omazic cut her design teeth, and Paris, where Celine is inextricably linked. Ivana is getting the look right, but the spirit still has to breathe.

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