April 12, 2005

Associated Press

AP

A photograph of Ava Gardner from the film "Mogambo" inspired Diane von Furstenberg's retro travel stamp print that's featured in her spring collection, shown Sept. 12, 2004.

NEW YORK - When most people go on vacation, they bring back souvenirs. When fashion designers go on vacation, they bring back the ideas that will become their next collections.

This spring, the runways lead to exotic destinations from Uzbekistan to China and Africa.

The 1953 film "Mogambo," which took place in Kenya, was the inspiration for the collection Diane von Furstenberg calls "Grand Tour."

"She (actress Ava Gardner) is looking so amazingly gorgeous. She's sitting on pieces of hard luggage with all those tags and stamps on it," von Furstenberg says.

Those retro travel stamps became the basis for one of von Furstenberg's prints. The line also features a map print and a caftan decorated with an African sunset in addition to graphic tribal African prints.

"The best ideas for the line come when I pack - and I pack every five days," von Furstenberg says. "I'm constantly moving. It's my life and it's always been my life. I like it. I think I'm the best packer in the world because I pack the smallest bags in the world. My clothes are extremely light, which makes it easy."

For fall, von Furstenberg turns to Russia and the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan, which was part of the silk route that linked the Roman Empire to the Orient. "It was part of the Silk Road. It's so interesting. At one time, this was the center of the world, and you can see it in its architecture and colors," she describes.

Oscar de la Renta also became intrigued by Uzbekistan and its place in the history of the silk road.

"Travel inspires my work a great deal," he says."I have always used fabrics, embroideries and techniques from all over the world."

AP

Giorgio Armani says he's having a love affair with Asia, and his spring collection shows it.

Both de la Renta's spring and upcoming fall collections prominently feature a weaving technique called ikat, in which a pattern is created from tie-dyed thread. It's native to Uzbekistan.

Some outstanding looks this season include an ikat coat in brown, red and yellow worn with a white cotton skirt and yellow cashmere sweater, and an ikat skirt decorated with glittery sunbursts and paired with a white chiffon ruffle blouse and a beige sequined boucle jacket.

Giorgio Armani's signature collection is rooted in another point on the Silk Road map: China. Previewing the collection, Armani dressed models in coolie hats and cropped Mandarin jackets, with Asian platform sandals on their feet. The evening gowns featured demure Chinese script silk print.

China is "one of those extraordinary magical places that for me holds a mythical allure," the Italian designer says. "I know it through books, films, and photographs, but my trip exceeded my wildest dreams and confirms to me how limited our imagination in the West can be. The surrealist touches and memories of old Shanghai and the growing possibilities of 'new' China were eye-opening, alluring and surprising."

He says he tried to create a jacket in a fitted Asian-inspired silhouette that emphasizes the form and flow of the body.

This year, Armani plans trips to South Korea and Japan. Tokyo's Mori Art Museum will exhibit a retrospective of the designer's work that was first shown at New York's Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. "My love for Asia continues," he says.

Von Furstenberg, meanwhile, is off to the Bahamas, Brazil and Russia again.

AP

Diane von Furstenberg's spring runway led to Africa.

"I don't think I'm introducing people to another place, but hopefully, I'm inspiring people. In fashion, you have to be inspired all the time. It can also happen with nature. I always have a camera with me. I take pictures of leaves and gravel, blow them up and then it becomes a print," she says.

Other designers who found inspiration in faraway lands and translated it into American fashion this season include Michael Kors (Greece), Vera Wang and Behnaz Sarafpour (Japan), and Nicole Miller and Cynthia Steffe (Morocco).

"Visions of Greece encompass everything from the classical drapery of Grecian togas to Jackie and Ari (Onassis) cruising the Greek Isles on the Christina. That kind of glamorous lifestyle is something everyone can dream about on a gloomy, gray day," Kors says.