One delicate dress floated down

One delicate dress floated down the runway after another at the preview of BCBG Max Azria’s spring collection. The best part: many were wearable.

The femininity came from the fabrics, mostly organza and tulle, in a subtle dusty palette with only the occasional pop of a blush pink. Because some of the dresses would have been sheer on their own, the husband-wife design team of Max and Lubov Azria layered them, often with a silk slipdress under a wrap dress or one with panels.
One of the best looks was the first. Rihanna, Kourtney Kardashian & Miley: Celebrities Sizzle In Summer Dresses They called it a trenchcoat — but most would probably consider the gravel-colored organza garment a coatdress — that was worn over a tulle slipdress and nipped at the waist with a leather wrap belt.
Other outstanding outfits were an off-white vest over an ivory bustier dress with pleat details worn over an ivory slipdress, and a seafoam-colored silk charmeuse panel dress with a pale gray slipdress with a lace hem.
BCBG’s young fans in the entertainment world turned out to the tents at Bryant Park, where Azria will also show his signature upscale collection Friday. Ashlee Simpson, Sophia Bush and Ciara were in the front row, as was tennis star Martina Hingis.
“It was all very pretty,” Hingis said after the show. “The satin — that was really nice.”
The look at the Abaete show was inspired by the screen sirens of the 1940s and particularly Gene Tierney, according to designer Laura Poretzky. It was like Poretzky transported Tierney, who was at one time married to the late legendary fashion designer Oleg Cassini, and all her friends — Rita Hayworth and Jean Harlow, among them — to Miami where they sipped cocktails and soaked up the Deco-era architecture.
Among the tempting looks to be offered next spring were a halter-neck striped dress in pink and navy with similarly colored patches of fabric near the hem, and a sand-and-peach-colored sheath dress that would hug an hourglass figure.