Nina Ricci Resort 2014

Oh, the problems of a Nina Ricci girl in this cold, hard world. “She’s a Parisian headed south,” said Peter Copping of his resort inspiration. “She’s fed up with the bad weather and craving summer clothes and sun.” No one will feel bad for her, given the wardrobe Copping dreamed up and presented in an intimate show in New York. If the pacing of the presentation was a little awkward, the clothes were pitch-perfect — a mixture of doll-like flirtation, sophistication and house heritage. Eyelet, a sweet summer fabric if there ever was one, came in combinations of crisp white with traces of yellow or purple, ruffled up on a bustier dress and a cotton top. Bright tweed suits — short jackets and minis with flared hems — were worn with flat sandals for grounded ease. More womanly were looks derived from a series of archival house scarves, which Copping chopped up and draped into body-skimming halter dresses and skirts. The designer knows how to deliver glamour — gowns in stretch radzimir, slinky satin and lace cut a sexy silhouette — yet his casual side was spot-on, too, in a series of trenches, such as a chicly rumpled style that folds up into its own pochette.