Vera Wang: "Tristesse" Translated (Fashion Wire Daily)

New York - The sources for Vera Wangs inspiration are never merely passing, superficial references. Whether its a painting, a novel or an intangible memory, they form an integral part of the design. Wang distills their key elements, whether a color palette or a narrative theme, into clothing that quietly evokes the artistic core of the original work.

Thankfully, this process of translation never feels forced and the delicate balance between high-minded concept and actual design remains spot-on. In other words, you dont need to know the reference to appreciate the clothes. Wangs designs arent fussy or precious, rigidly following their muses so as to be unwearable. Though couture-like in their construction, with complicated draping and pleating, ultimately the collections feel effortless. In Wangs universe, you dont want to look as though youre trying too hard.

Wangs 2009 Resort collection, shown on Thursday, June 12, in New York, took inspiration from Francoise Sagans 1954 novel "Bonjour Tristesse," a coming of age tale about a French teenager in the south of France, on the Cote dAzur. Taking the books motifs of the sun and the sea, "the former representing a paternal sign of power with the latter representing a daughters poignant longing for her deceased mother," according to Wangs program notes. Wang focused on two-tone pieces throughout most of the collection, with bright yellow symbolizing the sun and shades of blue for the sea, contrasted with grays, plums, greens and corals.

A textured organza dress, for example, with grosgrain ribbon straps, featured a navy top half and a deep green lower half, while in other instances a top or a skirt were literally split down the middle, one side gray and the other side black. Its as though the pieces were a representation of the split between adolescence and adulthood - two distinct, but connected modes. A vintage-inspired floral brocade used in several pieces, updated for resortwear as a lighter, more modern fabric, added a jolt of pattern to the modernist color blocking.

As is Wangs signature, her loose silhouettes here exhibited a sensuousness that is not overtly sexual, understanding how captivating it can be when not everything is revealed all at once. A straightforward, oversized "boyfriend" sweater revealed detailing in the back, or a lingerie-like sheer camisole would be paired with an opaque knit. The oversized quality of most of the collection looked at once innocent, as though shes inhabiting her mother, or fathers clothes, but also sexy in a borrowed-your-boyfriends-shirt kind of way.

Satin and leather half thong, half slipper shoes and cut-crystal jewelry in greens and blues completed the casual glamour of each look, a final mark of punctuation in Vera Wangs narrative of 1950s French Riviera mystique.

Vera Wang Lavender Label Resort 2009, a lower-priced but still in-house designed collection from Wang, also played with the idea of color-blocking combined with exuberant, artfully mismatched Liberty of London-style prints, as well as elements of sheer lingerie layered over or under solid knits, being revealing without actually revealing. With the breadth of a cool friends closet you wish you could raid and prices ranging from $150-$800, its also definitely worth a look if youre a fan of Vera Wang.