Resort Wrap Up

By Robert Cordero
June 28, 2010

With countless brands now showing resort collections, what was once a fashion afterthought is increasingly becoming just as vital as the spring and fall shows. Resort clothes, which are usually delivered to stores from October to February, are now meant for far more than vacation or holiday packing for an exotic locale. As Cathy Horyn put it in her recent New York Times article, “resort has become a huge commercial entity," a claim that’s hard to dispute.

“Resort is a retail-friendly, pre-Christmas update, and even for the majority of customers who don't actually go on a major sunny holiday in the depth of winter, these collections offer party pieces for the holidays,” says Nina May, the proprietor of London-based womenswear e-commerce outfit, ninaandlola.com. “Let's face it, with fall/winter being delivered ever earlier, new merchandise before Christmas is very useful,” adds May.

Luckily, you don’t have to wait months until the latest resort pieces arrive in stores. Here are a five trends from the recent 2011 resort collections that you can now buy on eBay.

Color Blocking

At Celine, Phoebe Philo’s modernist vision had a slightly nostalgic feel, using pops of color running down the side of trousers, orange and green panels in a mini skirt and a black and orange silk top. Proenza Schouler’s striped Baja jacket had a bohemian vibe; Nicolas Ghesquiere at Balenciaga used inventive paneling of fabrics to create the blocking effect, while Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel made a blush pink dress with diagonal, black color panels that created a flattering visual effect on the body.

eBay option: NEW Vera Wang Silk Color Block Rhinestone Dress (buy it now price, $328)

Swell Suits

Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta also played with colorblocking in lascivious bathing suits and taut tops, but his languid take on a black pantsuit, which consisted of slouchy trousers and a double breasted jacket, was also sexy, albeit of a tougher variety. Yves Saint Laurent’s suits reminded everyone of the brand’s DNA, with a white number over a white and black polka dot blouse, while Stella McCartney and Narciso Rodriguez used pink to play up the suit’s feminine power.

eBay option: NEW Martin Margiela SS10 Black Pantsuit (buy it now price, $798)

Beige Tones

Last season, Giambattista Valli paraded beautiful camel coats. This time around, he carried the warm tones of beige over, onto a bubble hem coat with laser cut petals and onto the fringes of summery heels. 3.1 Philip Lim’s collection was awash with the warm neutral hue in liquidy and shiny fabrics, and Thakoon reworked the trench into a sweet looking deconstructed jacket. Burberry, meanwhile, closed its show with a series of clothes consisting of double breasted coats, dresses, shirred knee length skirts and a knit dress.

eBay option: NEW Dries Van Noten Coeur Wrap (buy it now price, $508)

Lace Effect

Lace, which has been in fashion for a few seasons now, made a strong appearance in the resort collections as well. At Nina Ricci, it was turned into a transparent cocktail dress with tiered panels. Marc Jacobs had a whiff of the retro, seen in a white bodice and black skirt made from stiff lace. But the most audacious and inventive use of the delicate material was at Givenchy, where Ricardo Tisci overlayed strips of seductive red lace in architectural jackets, decorative elements in transparent floor length dresses, and as panels in utterly desirable and chic skirts and blouses.

eBay option: NEW Magda Berliner black laser cut lace dress (buy it now price, $750)

White Frocks

With lace providing sexy undertones to the season, a series of white dresses provided a demure counterpoint to the collections. For his second outing, Reed Krakoff made tailored cotton shifts to fit his minimally rendered designs. Lanvin’s offering was ethereal in a floor length number made from crumpled silk. And at the Olsen twins’ The Row, a dress with the dramatic floor sweeping hemline that Mary Kate fancies was at once languid and elegant.

eBay option: NEW Philip Lim Raffles Dress (starting bid, $129.99)

Robert Cordero is an editor at JC Report, an influential online global style publication, where he also works on the new media company's business development and marketing initiatives.

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