Cruisin' Hot and Cold ... Diane von Furstenberg Resort 2009 Collection

Months ago, before friends and close relatives were talking non-stop about Katy Perry; I barely had any idea who she was. But it all changed when I saw her raunchy video “I Kissed a Girl’ on the TV. Not just that, even my neighbourhood McDonalds’ too kept playing the track like 10 times in a day, from break of dawn to three in the morning.

Apart from her controversial singles (think I Kissed a Girl and You’re So Gay) that exploded on charts around the world, there’s another aspect that has propelled this dark-haired Los Angeles lass into global stardom – her sense of fashion.

Channelling the coolness of the Forties and Fifties with current street style and hints of the eighties (has anyone seen that Like a Virgin-inspired wedding dress in Hot and Cold video lately?), her infectious yet unapologetic style has definitely turned the fashion and real world around!

Thousand miles away from KL to Florence, Italy, I metaphorically saw the clones of Katy walking the Diane von Furstenberg 2009 resort runway last May. Whether she had successfully inspire the woman who gave us wrap dress and also one of the late Andy Warhol muses or not, I can simply feel her style vibe running throughout the show. Held at the vast yet well-manicured Gardinio Torrigiani (translated as Torrigiani’s Garden); the show was attended by buyers, fashion press, and rabid jet set fashionistas a.k.a. DVF devotees flown from every corners of the world.

Called Le Petite Valise or Little Valise, the collection is brimming with style hints borrowed from the seventies and backwards. Made as pieces that could be easily stored inside your suitcase when travelling, wardrobe (or vacation suitcase) staples such as ribbon-trimmed sundresses with swirling tight-waisted skirts, the inevitable siren swimwear, airy scarf dresses, jersey shirtwaisters and T-shirt dresses are all drenched in with prints derived from immigration stamps stamped inside Diane’s passport.

Besides passport stamp prints, von Furstenberg also adopts lots of lush natural prints as well as symmetrical ones (looks more like African tribal prints instead) and applied them onto her creations. Rich yet lively colours like red, green, and yellow go harmoniously side by side with traditional black and white.

Since Resort or Cruise collection is often being associated with the sea and mariners’ style elements, von Furstenberg also threw some nautical elements such as broad vertical stripes in various hue matches to evoke the holiday cruise spirit.

And being one of late Andy Warhol’s original art subjects, she also paid tribute to the artist’s psychedelic interpretation of arts with Warhol swim collection. A range consists of 15 pieces; they are all inspired by Andy Warhol’s aesthetics, namely colours and prints. There’s a bandeau bikini set doused with Warhol’s red dots, as well as a silk long halter cover-up covered in Warhol brush strokes on the hem. Très interesting!

Of course, at the end of the show, the fashion doyenne herself made a grand appearance in front of her loyal subjects. Backed by a beautiful Roman marble statue as the milieu, Diane bowed and immersed herself in the loud applause coming from her fans that are veritably approved and charmed.

Diane von Furstenberg’s Resort 2009 collection is available now at DVF’s standalone store at Pavilion KL.

*Photos by Ivan Lattuada/SGP

Diane von Furstenberg – Lot 3.33.00, Level 3, Pavilion KL, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.