Karanina

For their fourth showing at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, California, Karanina designers Kara Smith and Nina Firestone were looking to dress “a very social, feminine girl in an urban setting,” Smith said. The Spring/Summer ’06 Karanina collection “has a little vintage flair but is for a really modern girl— sort of a young Goldie Hawn meets Kate Hudson,” she said.

At their Oct. 17 show, the young Santa Barbara-based designers sent sophisticated denim overalls, wide-leg denim trousers and paired-down prairie looks down the catwalk. There was a periwinkle blue dress with a lace apron, a mint and salmon-print dress with rope straps, a belted brown cotton prairie skirt, and wide-strap frocks worn over thin cotton T-shirts. Layered lace petticoats peeked out from underneath long printed cotton dresses.

Lace insets, faded flower prints and muted colors maintained the collection’s vintage sensibility. For evening, the duo showed a pale lavender Grecian gown in flowing jersey and a cream and lavender print gown with rope wraparound straps. –Apparel News