Established furrier Dennis Basso has long been celebrated for his broadtails, chinchillas, sables, and minks, but for Spring 2010 the mood was considerably softer and lighter. “Harkening back to cool spring evenings, summer breezes, and warm starry nights,” the designer said of his new collection, “it’s about fluid movement, with a nod to the ballerinas of the great Edgar Degas.” Summoning the spirit of a renowned French painter and sculptor admired for and most widely identified with his 1868 Ballet La Source Exhibition—no less one of the founders of Impressionism—was certainly a masterful way to imbue his designs with an ethereal beauty. The mere mention of Degas conjures up images of delicate ballerinas in a still life of gently blended lines and dancers cast in bronze statuettes en pointe. Mr. Basso more than sought his inspiration in this graceful portraiture, he brought these images to life with 35 new skirts, dresses, and gowns all worthy of a plie or two.

Dennis Basso has been peddling pelts to his Upper East Side grand dame clientele for more than a quarter of a century, but what makes this new collection especially impressive is that the designer only transitioned to non-fur ready-to-wear pieces with his Fall 2007 Collection a few years ago. And like many of his contemporaries, it didn’t take long for Mr. Basso to realize that true success is cross-generational and marked by not only dressing the Chairman’s wife, but his daughter and granddaughter as well. This collection definitely had mass-appeal with a luxuriously metallic palette of gold, chrome, platinum, champagne, and bronze speckled with vibrant slivers of yellow, pink, navy, purple and two romantically blurred floral prints.

Whether tiered or layered, short or long, full skirts were paired with simple, body-conscious tops, allowing the fabric to move with its wearer. Design details included dimensional appliqués, ribbon and python trimmings; while shirred and hand-tucked fabrics cinched with delicate ¼-inch wide belts gave these looks an hourglass effect. Lovely little sculpted boleros with lace insets and cap-sleeved fingertip “cover-ups” with alternating rows of fur and organza created an illusion that the garments were gently floating, making a platinum jersey and bronze chiffon gown feel modern, fresh, and playful when layered beneath a gold diamond dusted python bolero. The lengths varied from playful twirl-worthy mid-thigh tank dresses blossoming with metallic appliqués (a chrome silk jersey tank paired with a floral lace skirt was all at once inspired and inspiring while a pink silk jersey tank atop an organza rosette skirt sparkled in a glow of fairy dust) to floor-grazing gowns (a silk organza overlay with a cotton poppy gown gave this youthful piece a decidedly impressionist treatment and a navy iridescent bubble gown with camellia appliqués was reminiscent of a walk through provencial gardens with petals strewn about a flowing full ball gown skirt.)

Organza, voile, crepe de chine, and taffeta, along with the aforementioned quartet of fur staples were all manipulated in the most delicate way for this after 5:00 collection. “For me evening clothes are a passion, as I adore how they transform the way a woman looks, and most of all, the way she feels,” noted Mr. Basso. This collection will undoubtedly inspire his client to dance the night away, pas de deux, anyone?

Images provided courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Newsgroup

For additional information, please visit http://www.dennisbasso.com/

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