DKNY AUTUMN/WINTER 2015-16 READY-TO-WEAR NEW YORK

Donna Karan loves the nightlife. Donna Karan loves New York. These are things we know to be unequivocally true, gospel. And so they informed her Fall outing, a story of the city and Karan’s ambitious girl-on-the-go muse.

The show notes referred to today’s look as “the New York uniform” (though if that were the case, we’d be living in a very different city indeed). The designer reined in last season’s kinetic patterns and devoted her biggest extravagances to embellishment and pops of high-impact color, like the electric blue V-neck, which peeked out from opener Maartje Verhoef’s long gray topper, and some great, almost fluorescent red trousers (smashing with a turquoise turtleneck). The heavy menswear story got the Karan treatment, courtesy of the stones and sequins that worked as particularly glam patches; a standout camel coat came sporting a lone glittering silver lapel. Less appealing were the pieces in bonded navy and heather gray jersey, funnel-necked sweatshirts, and sleeveless maxidresses that bore huge abstract blooms, which somehow felt neither urbane nor playful. But all told, there was plenty of strong tailoring here, and a lot of pieces a girl might find some fun in.