Thu, Mar 31, 2005 page13

• 'Polar Light' fails to dazzle

  The theme for Nadia Lin's showcase of spring and summer clothing was "aurora" but the effect was less than blinding

  • By David Momphard / STAFF REPORTER
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  Blustery weather made a turn for the balmy last Friday and, for the first time in months, the cafe crowds in Taipei's Xinyi District seemed happy at the chance to sit outside and shed a layer of clothing. As they did, Nadia Lin (林臣英) was dressing a battalion of beauties who would strut her new line of spring and summer fashions on the catwalk of the Shinkong Mitsukoshi department store. At least Lin's timing was right.

  That's not to say Lin's ensemble outfits -- a collection of both day and evening, business and casual wear -- was less than well-received. After a fashionably late start to the show, the audience was more than willing to be blinded by anything remotely brilliant. And as the theme for the event was jiguang (極光), the aurora of light that plays at the polar ice caps, blinding is exactly what many of us front row to the models' feet were expecting.

  What we got was a collection that reflected many of the colors of an aurora but little of its dazzle. Chartreuse, lavenders, gold-toned coffee colors, greens and grays took the stage in procession. The tones and hues of the fabrics more than displayed Lin's skill at picking and partnering colors, but the cocktails of color she shook together left us sober.

  Instead, the brilliance came from the accessories. Belts and waist treatments aroused special interest as did many of the necklaces, wristbands, armbands and bangles draped around the models' necks. These seemed to set the outfits off more then the outfits themselves did. Pink and green we've long known compliment each other, but tie them together with a belt made of shells, add a splash of aqua blue and the effect is more than the sum of its parts.

  "The clothes are nothing special," my colleague accompanying me said halfway through the show, "But the shoes are powerful."

  She was right. But perhaps that was the point. Lin's spring and summer collection of mix-and-match outfits seemed more than anything to serve as a softly colored canvas to a woman's favorite accessories.

  The styles were simple and classically cut. Lin prefers lanky fabrics cut to straight lines and rounded at the edges to eschew any angularity. These lanky fabrics of course looked great on a lanky, 2m-tall model, but put them on a fuller figure and the effect would be flattening. The look on most of the faces in the audience seemed to say that the fashions "look great on her."

  Those looks brightened when Lin's embroidered outfits took the stage. Here is where the designer is at her best. The same classic lines -- often inspired from traditional Chinese patterns -- took on real character when embroidered with subtle floral motifs that either stand alone against the fabric or vine their way through it bottom to top. These flourishes were far better than the simple ruffled cuff and lapel on many of Lin's other ensembles but do nothing to detract from a woman's accessories.

  She may not like to hear it, but Lin's latest collection is conservative. She seemed to go to great lengths last Friday to detract from this point, having shod her models in "powerful" shoes and given each of the dozen of them positively nest-able hair styles. But take away these accoutrements and the outfits themselves, as they looked on the hanger, were conservative.

  The weather may be heating up, but Lin's "polar light" might leave you cold.
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