From Louis

………………The Anne Klein Spring 1991 collection consisted of three distinct groups…………..BLACK & WHITE……..BOLD COLOR……..and BLACK & BAMBOO……..The photo of Gayle shows a Black and Bamboo bold print jacket made of a heavier weight silk….ETRO made this “discharge” print for me in Italy. The three button, lined in silk, jacket had a cutaway bottom and long slim sleeves….with a jewel neckline….The easy pant she is wearing it with was made in the same quality of silk in a solid bamboo color…..The earrings and bracelet were large teardrop gold beads incased in clear resin…..The beads and the chain was 18 karat gold plate…statement pieces……..The WHOLE LOOK was one BOLD STATEMENT!!!

………………I created for my Spring 1991 Anne Klein collect a number of pieces in Bamboo and Black, but it was the PRINTS that made the dominate statement……ALL done for me by ETRO…….At left, the model is wearing a bamboo silk tank edged in black, a bamboo silk draped front skirt, and an ABSTRACT print elongated blazer in silk……To the right, Gayle is wearing a shawl collar chiffon blouse in an abstract LOTUS print, with a silk KNIT tank and silk bamboo trousers with a wide calf fabric belt…….When I started designing for QVC I created a version of this Lotus print, also on a silk georgette………both versions sold very well…….at very different prices!

…………..JACKETS and all types of tailoring was something I loved to create…..Balancing the shape of the jacket with just the right size and shape of the lapel, if there was one, with the type of pockets, and sleeve was all a wonderful puzzle to me….Here, in Bamboo and Black are to versions of…..”TAILLEUR”…….On the left a lean elongated zip front jacket with a cutaway bottom…in a plaid…..She is wearing it over a coordinating “tweed” short skirt….On the right the same plaid in a totally different tailleur…..The short double breasted jacket has a wider lapel. The jacket is worn with a silk knit tank, and coordinating “tweed” trousers…….The plaid and the tweed were all made with the same yarns…. a linen, silk and cotton blend…….Chic tailoring never becomes dated or out of style……Good style is timeless as these 31 year old clothes can attest!

…………KNITWEAR IN BAMBOO AND BLACK………….here are two sweaters with very different looks in Bamboo and Black……On the left a 3 gauge abstract hand knit….It’s a tunic length with a ballet neckline. It was fun sketching the design on large paper, and then following the knitter creating the graph to knit it……The tunic on the right was done in an Every Needle jersey knit. The under tank was attached to the deep V-neck……Going to Italy a few times a year to develop sweaters was one of the high lights of my working experience……I learned so much from these highly skilled people.

………..”SIMPLICITY IN BLACK”………The black pieces shown here were made in a blend of silk and rayon in the same construction as the 100% silk Cadet…..The fabric was weighty and felt so EXPENSIVE!!! and it was!!!….The model to the left is wearing a fitted longer jacket over matching “walking shorts”…a new way of wearing a suit…..To the right, Giselle is wearing a “signature” dress of the collection. It had princess seams with in seam pockets….cut in armholes and a rounded neckline….When you are wearing solid black clothes that are simple shapes, and all about the silhouette…..you can really step it up with the accessories, and make them look va va voom…….All of the jewelry shown here I designed for my Spring 1991 Anne Klein Collection……The 18 karat gold plate jewelry all had the gold tear drop beads incased in clear resin….They were truly made beautifully…..and WORKS OF ART!….They quickly became collector’s pieces.