Collette Dinnigan (Q2814)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Collette Dinnigan is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Collette Dinnigan |
Collette Dinnigan is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
This past year has been a big one for Collette Dinnigan, what with a new baby; her first book,Obsessive Creative(published at the end of October); and a bridal business that's booming. And it got the designer thinking about where she is now and how far she's traveled in her twenty-odd years in the business. "This collection is very much about emotional contrasts, but at the same time I wanted to reach back to where I started," Dinnigan explained backstage before her Spring show. "It's a mix of color with a surprising twist." With that in mind, she named her collection for the Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides Now."True to her lingerie roots, Dinnigan's first looks out were cotton broderie anglaise, in a wispy dress or a simple, lacy T-shirt worn over eyelet shorts. Cocktail hour came up fast, though, bringing with it a splay of flowers: Diamanté ones spilled over the bodice of a wispy ivory dress or cropped up in a geometric pattern on a couple of short, silky numbers with black shoulder ties. Dinnigan showed six looks based on Woolmark's Cool Wool, which she custom dyed in vibrant harlequin blue for a dress with cherry-red floral appliqués or worked into daisy appliqués to bring texture to a red and beige calf-length dress. Of one look in draped beige wool with Swarovski beading and a plunging neckline, the designer commented: "This woman has the confidence to let her scarlet bra show." And while Dinnigan's finale of breezy maxi dresses would be right at home, in any color, at a wedding, they just might catch on for daytime, too.
29 September 2013
For Resort, Collette Dinnigan was inspired by what she called the "laid-back luxe" of the late sixties. The collection travels from the country clubs of Los Angeles—white cotton tennis dresses were given an ultra-feminine spin with mesh-inspired lace and matte beading—to the French Riviera, where navy lightweight cotton trousers were made girlish with a high waist andbroderie anglaisedetailing.In a marked departure from her colorless Fall collection, Dinnigan worked quite a bit with the rainbow, mixing her delicately sequined black leather minidresses and white shifts in between. A miniskirt with blown-up sequins in blues, oranges, and pinks had a funky, organic feel—but paired with an equally bold swirly silk blouse it was a little too much.Dinnigan's real strength is in the accoutrements—from detailed vintage beading on several glam gowns to the red-and-white striped linen crop top embroidered with raffia. The standout was a mini covered in pastel floral appliqués, the low back made more wearable with sheer paneling. "This collection isn't about traditionally sexy clothes," she said. "It's about the woman who makes the clothes looks sexy."
3 June 2013
The new Collette Dinnigan collection was a rather streamlined affair. The designer's dominant silhouette this season was a reed-slender sheath, and her palette essentially vacillated between black and shades of silver and white. But you wouldn't call these clothes minimalist: Dinnigan coaxed a subdued drama out of the surface detail here, making particularly effective use of leather appliqué and laces with an iridescent sheen. The results were atypically vixenish. That said, the signature Dinnigan sweetness remained, and reached its apogee in a look composed of a white lace T-shirt and matching tiered lace skirt; that was a winning ensemble, if somewhat out of tone with much of the rest of the collection. Likewise, amid all the neutrals, it was the bare hint of color here that stood out—a cap-sleeve lace gown and glimmering A-line coat in a mushroomy green both had a nice sense of warmth. All told, this wasn't a challenging collection, but Dinnigan executed her conventional silhouettes with a lot of flair.
2 March 2013
Collette Dinnigan is mere weeks away from having a baby, so she remained in Australia but had her collection delivered to Paris. Pregnancy seemed neither to have inhibited nor propelled her creative process—she stayed true to her pretty, feminine silhouettes and fondness for surface detail.Still, her floral print for Spring was not just any garden variety, but rather a cascade of irises inspired by the ones at Giverny. Their purplish blue (cornflower, really, but that gets confusing) appeared more pronounced on satin georgette than on brocade, where the petals mellowed against a golden backdrop. Dinnigan ensured that the print could do double duty for day and night; it was on sleeveless tops and breezy tunics as well as one full-length gown with wrap detail and another with a beaded bustier.The designer likes paillettes and beading a little too much, although this season, a matte finish made a small difference. On one watermelon-tinged T-shirt dress, pieces grew in size as they made their way toward the hemline. Flattering? Undecided. But it sure was fun to touch. As usual, Dinnigan's knits got some type of special treatment—either they had a chiffon-paneled back or a panel of beaded neck- and hemlines. Most of all, this distinguished them from anything available at High Street shops.Dinnigan designs for Hollywood's fresh faces and those in high places. One dress with a ring of tuck pleats around the waist had the effect of a softened, built-in peplum. Dream scenario for the designer: It ends up on Kate Middleton and gets renamed the Duchess Dress.And what would Dinnigan's collection be without a great deal of Chantilly lace? Black cocktail dress, check. Lilac with cappuccino underlay, check. A white and wistfully romantic version, check. But none were as novel as the top in yellow with raffia flora embroidery. With this one piece, Dinnigan flexed her flourish muscles. She's got the pretty down pat, now it might benefit her to consider contrast—an additional jacket or two, perhaps. That way, the collection will grow alongside the baby.
29 September 2012
As a brand becomes more established, recurring stylistic elements come to be known as "house codes." That Collette Dinnigan has several easily identifiable touches—lace that flutters over shoulders and neckline-to-hemline sparkle both come to mind—speaks to a level of consistency that she's more or less maintained over 20 years.Her 2013 pre-collection follows the classic Resort ethos—clothes for beach getaways—without abandoning her red carpet-lite niche. Dresses in geranium, sky blue, and crisp green French lace skimmed the body without clinging. A short-sleeved dress in mesh and lace was an LBD with staying power. Dinnigan placed equal weight on three-dimensional fabrics (featuring raffia flowers, beads, and paillettes) as on two breezy but busy prints.If some pieces (the daisy embroidery, the coral capped-sleeve ruffle dress) prompted a déjà-vu reaction—as in, doesn't that look like [insert high-end label here] from Spring 2012?—it simply confirms that this designer can turn runway drama into first-date fashion. Her collection will make it to poolsides and movie premieres; eyelet blouses and jersey dresses looked travel-friendly, while the bejeweled gowns are party photo bait. These are lifestyle codes that Dinnigan understands well.
1 July 2012
Collette Dinnigan opened her show to Blondie's "One Way or Another," an indication that the designer's usual prettiness was getting a punk makeover. The tip panned out, but for the most part it was the result of styling (though a little silver beaded shift did give you an edgy Joan of Arc-meets-Balmain vibe). Dinnigan finished her parade of dresses with the wayward touch of little back-seamed lace socks dotted with winking crystals and slouched into killer studded Louboutin pumps."This stuff can all get a bit too ethereal-fairyland, and it's like floating in too much mystery," she explained after the show, which was curiously called Fairy Tale. But some tales are more believable than others. Mystery was kept to a minimum in Dinnigan's mostly un-tricky silhouettes that let the material and embellishment speak for themselves.And they did. No amount of the Undertones and Garbage on a soundtrack can distract from the fact that these dresses are made from exquisite stuff, particularly the custom laces. Check out the perfectly engineered placement of scallops on Dinnigan's lace tees, and the polka-dot motif at the hem of a dress that echoed the paillettes at the neckline. One aberration was the woolly yarn-loop embroidery that would appear to be a nod to winter in this rather un-wintry collection, but felt a bit crafty and wrong in this context. To stay warm, a better choice was the velvety black coat with a barely there trim of lace petals on the pockets and back. It's the kind of thing that might be chosen by Stevie Nicks—a woman who knows how to work romance with a different brand of darkness.
6 March 2012
In a season blooming with retro femininity, Collette Dinnigan could scarcely have picked a better time to unearth a trove of different types of lace from the archive that she's developed over the years but never used. Her reason? "They're just so beautiful," she explained in a private appointment. And there's the fact that some are so labor-intensive, they're becoming extinct. Time to set them off into the light of day—or night, as the case may be for these cocktail hour pieces, many of which will be limited to production runs of about 40 dresses. Dinnigan cut them in her elegant little signature shapes—a nice way to feature them—like a kimono-sleeve minidress and her lovely, slim, cap-sleeve midi silhouette that was a standout in chic navy lace. The great thing about these dresses is their immediate appeal, though their simplicity is deceptive. Many have boning and layers of nude silk that seem to disappear when they're worn. The designer called it a "tattoo effect." Still, amid all the exquisiteness, one of Dinnigan's favorites had nothing to do with any of the above: a blousy pullover sequin dress that got its shape from a single gathered knot at the bust. "I love the idea of wearing something a bit loose on the red carpet," she said in her bright Aussie clip. "How cool is that?"
2 October 2011
Collette Dinnigan is a girly girl through and through. Her beloved lace, beads, ruffles, and sequins dovetailed nicely with her Resort collection's "Seaside Escapes" theme. There were a few dresses that will look smashing on the Aussie designer's starlet clientele. A vintage-inspired, tie-neck frock in bias-cut "Santorini blue" satin, for example, had Taylor Swift's name written all over it, and a short shift with paillettes color-blocked in peach and orange was also red carpet-ready. Unfortunately, not everything here was quite that on point. A perforated lace sheath would've been lovely without the structured wire frills on its shoulders, and we'd recommend steering clear of giant, sequined pineapples like the one on the final gown altogether. On the other hand, a crystal "seashell" miniskirt paired with an oversize cashmere T-shirt got the embellishment equation just right.
15 June 2011
Collette Dinnigan's Spring collection, with its scarf-print bloomers and lacy camisoles, seemed skewed to the starlet set. That makes her Fall show, with what her program notes described as "silhouettes reminiscent of eras past," avolte-face. There's nothing wrong with 180s, per se, but one of the questions that lingered after Dinnigan's show this morning was just who exactly is the customer for those lace shirt-waisters with the crinolines? It was easier to imagine the evening sparklers, encrusted with crystals or densely beaded in deco rows, finding fans. But then a trio of looks in an oversize blue polka-dot print hit the runway and they didn't look like sure things either. It may be that a Spring collection comes easier for an Aussie like Dinnigan, but in the end, she didn't have much new to contribute regarding how modern women—celebs or otherwise—should get dressed this Fall.
7 March 2011
Mad Menwas on Collette Dinnigan's mind for Resort, but her Spring collection was more Sally Draper than Betty, with its baby dolls in broderie anglaise and souvenir-scarf trapeze dresses. The girly feel extended to a micro daisy print used for bloomer shorts and capris, the former worn with a ruffled button-down and the latter a sequined cardigan. If a bustier dress embroidered with crystals was noticeably more grown-up, Empire waists and tulle ballerina skirts meant Dinnigan's other red-carpet material skewed youthful. There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, of course; starlets keep getting younger and younger. Dinnigan's collection didn't land on any big trends like long or color, but it was pretty enough.
4 October 2010
Collette Dinnigan was in New York to talk up her new lower-priced range, Collette. The short, colorful baby-doll dresses and smocks all retail for less than $350. "It's about easy dressing," she said. "And it's a bit gypsy." But she was also here to show her high-end collection, and that, by contrast, took its cues from the designer's marathonMad Menwatching sessions. "I'm obsessed with the show's styling, how everything is so perfect," she said. Corseted dresses with full skirts were in abundance; a pink cotton version stitched with white raffia at the neckline and a chiffon in floral animal print were two highlights. It wasn't all strawberries and cream, though. Dinnigan's red-carpet clients still prefer sexy to sweet. For them, she served up black lace and studs.
10 June 2010
Designer Collette Dinnigan didn't make the 19-hour trip to Paris this season from Sydney, but her Fall collection did. And from the looks of the pretty dresses hanging on the racks at Le Meurice hotel, the trend toward returning to your roots has made it all the way Down Under. The Aussie dress specialist embraced lace, the fabric with which she had her first success. Most of the frocks came in user-friendly black, and with their lean, to-the-body shapes, they could quite easily make the leap from cocktail hour to the office with the addition of a jacket. Dinnigan had one of those with silk cord embroidery on the front, but she smartly left tailoring to the professionals, building the day portion of her lineup with printed jersey wrap dresses and a casual cotton lace style with flouncy short sleeves. Channeling disco goddesses and fairy princesses, her special-occasion offerings ranged from a strapless mosaic mirror minidress to a one-shoulder gown with floaty tulle skirts in a shade of baby pink. Don't be surprised if you see the latter racking up some air miles to L.A. for Sunday night's red-carpet proceedings.
5 March 2010
Fantasy is one theme of the Spring collections, and Alice in Wonderland was the muse Collette Dinnigan channeled. It took a while to get to the fun part, though: The designer opened this dress-focused show with a passage in pre-rabbit-hole black and white. There was a little lace, some tulle, and rhinestones galore, but no organizing theme to distinguish these frocks from those of another designer on the occasion dress floor of a department store. After Alice took her notorious fall, however, things got more interesting. The boldly colored, painterly floral prints of Dinnigan's ruffled and tiered dresses—the models wore them shrugging off of one shoulder—had a real personality. Of course, we all have to come back to terra firma sometime, but it was a bit of a disappointment to see the designer return to the safety of black and white in the long evening looks at the end.
6 October 2009
Beads and lace are preferred materials for Collette Dinnigan, and Resort 2010 was no exception. Ornately embroidered tank dresses—said to be a favorite of a certain Top 40 country pop starlet—mingled next to delicate lace gowns (including some of the designer's wood nymph-like bridal looks) and airy cotton eyelet day looks. Dinnigan incorporated bright geometric prints inspired by the translucent waters and stark white buildings of Santorini, but intricate details—like an opalescent rhinestone trim on a billowy chiffon frock—kept the bold patterns from becoming overbearing. There was nothing agenda-setting here, but plenty of pretty pieces for the girl-about-town.
9 June 2009
After a few seasons of playing catch the trend, Collette Dinnigan returned to her strengths for Fall, and wouldn't you know it? The trends have caught up with her. Slipdresses have been big news at Paris' important collections, which means Dinnigan's practiced versions should prove alluring to retailers and customers shopping for the look for less. The collection was mostly in black, but it didn't feel dark or brooding. A silver beaded tank dress with metallic lace ruffling at the neckline looked like a good time. And for something more dramatic but just as youthful, there was an Edwardian white lace blouse tucked into a strapless black lace gown with crinoline skirts. Dinnigan usually emerges for her bow arm in arm with a couple of models, but this time, in a new smaller venue, she walked out alone—she must've known she'd got it right.
10 March 2009
There was a little black dress midway through Collette Dinnigan's show that reminded people who've followed her career of the early days. The frock's peekaboo-lace back echoed the lingerie-inspired dresses with which she made her name in the nineties. It would've been a good look upon which to build her Spring collection. As it was, it was just a (welcome) blip among many other pleasant but less distinctive dresses, some densely embroidered with metallic paillettes or studs, others cut in a filmy white chiffon with a violet butterfly print. Military touches on jackets struck a timely note, but there wasn't enough here to distinguish the clothes from those found in the contemporary collections seen on the runways of New York. In fact, that might be a good venue for this commercially oriented designer.
3 October 2008
It's the last day of Paris, and if people aren't preoccupied with plotting their exit strategies, they're tallying up the season's strongest shows and asking questions about what it all means. It's not a good day for the Aussie designer Collette Dinnigan to present her modest collection. There are simply too many reasons to overlook it, and Dinnigan's first job should be to address that issue before another season passes.As for the show itself, it hewed close to the agenda she established in her last two seasons here: party clothes that straddle the sexy-sweet divide. In the sexy camp were a taffeta baby-doll dress with pleats and a strapless point d'esprit gown. On the sweet side were rock star-skinny leather leggings and stretch jersey pants worn with a one-shoulder top fully covered in crystals; a puff-shouldered, belted satin tunic; and a fitted jacket with metallic frogging on its front.One little black dress with a sculptural bow above a bare, low-cut back stood out from all the rest. Dinnigan's second task should be to take that frock back to the studio and study it. A collection full of pieces as clever and cute could get her noticed here.
1 March 2008
This should be Collette Dinnigan's season. After all, the Australian designer made her name with lingerie dressing, putting Hollywood in her lace-edged slipdresses. But the boudoir theme that's become so relevant here in Europe eluded her. Instead, she sent out a pretty, but for the most part unremarkable, assortment of dresses that did little to establish her point of view. They came short and long, in metallic lamés, delicate lace, abstract silk florals, and bold solids. The one-shoulder, nipped-waist silhouette that we're seeing everywhere for Spring dominated, but there were also sixties-style shifts and baby dolls with tiers of ruffles falling to the knee. Many necklines and waists were embellished with silvery sequins or crystals.Breaking up all the repetition were off-the-shoulder asymmetrical blouses worn with high-waisted palazzo pants or short shorts, plus a few sporty looks like zip-front cardigans and hoodies. Does Dinnigan, who was on the runway for the second time after a comeback last season, have the goods to compete on the Paris stage? Not yet, and not unless she returns with a collection that has some actual fashion in it.
6 October 2007
After taking several seasons off the runways to raise a baby, this Australian designer set out to prove that she¿s capable of more than the beaded, lacy confections that¿ve made her a red carpet favorite. ¿You¿ll see a lot more daywear,¿ she said backstage. ¿And a new edginess, too.¿It turns out that Collette Dinnigan is no slouch in the tailoring department. She showed this season¿s high-waisted, deep-cuffed trousers with a Peter Pan-collared chiffon shirt and a leather cummerbund. Other pants came hip-slung and tapered, with a slight crop. She also keyed into the trend toward special sleeves: batwings on jackets and teardrops on a brocade coat.The trouble is, there weren¿t enough of these strong, sharp pieces in a mix that came off feeling a bit light on the day when Paris¿ big kids came out to play. The few cocktail dresses that she did show—a trapeze in a bejeweled floral lamé or an hourglass in gold lace—were unfortunately almost obscured by large knit scarves twisting elaborately around the models¿ necks. These details might be timely, but they were superfluous, and her stylist should¿ve been able to resist them.Dinnigan didn¿t invent the concept of lingerie dressing, but she certainly put her stamp on it and popularized it in Hollywood. In a season of slipdresses, it would¿ve been nice to see her play more to her strength.
3 March 2007