It was as if Yigal Azrouels muse was sipping sugary mint tea in the Khan al-Khalili market, on a break from snatching up batik-dyed silks and cargo gear for a foray into the desert sands.
The collection Azrouel showed to a front row packed with the fashionable relaxed downtown set was reminiscent of Desert-Storm chic. Lightweight layers like tissue-thin tops pushed to the elbows, and gauzy tank tops with rolled embellishments in tribal motifs would keep anyone cool in the urban jungle of todays cities. Loose-fitting, barely tailored jersey silhouettes will let the Sirocco wind breeze right through, while cropped skinny jeans and washed leather vests and jackets with wide slouchy collars struck an edgier chord that will surely resonate with the hipsters going to a Lower East Side gallery opening.
The eclectic collection was rounded out with lush paillettes fluttering on the sleeves of a roomy bolero jacket, ethnic handkerchief prints on dresses and tops. The only stiff note in this collection otherwise dedicated to movement and flow was the shorter, sculpted dresses, whose whorls of thick fabric looked like heavy cream whipped too thick and about to melt in the desert sun.
