by Grace Gordon

There is no curbing the excesses of Oscar de la Renta. Yet, there are no designers who are better at full-scale opulence than him. He does it so well. Indeed, extravagance was the description du jour at his FW11 show. From clothes fit for a Russian princess (with full fur regalia) to an ostentatious beaded bodice with full, frothy tulle tiered skirt (paired with a fur-lined coat in a graphic zebra print), there was no stopping the assault of luxury that was the Oscar de la Renta fall collection.

This season, he tried a bit of everything: patchwork gowns, tartan coats, abstract mosaics, silky one-shoulder dresses, jacquard coats with boucle trim, fur hoods, solid sequin ball gowns, a silver lame fringe dress, and a wide array of inkblot prints. The decadence of this collection was unbounded by cultural or economic restrictions, which made it deliciously naughty in the face of global recession. While fall 2010 saw an overt scaling back all over the runway, Oscar de la Renta defied the status quo and continued creating his signature sublime and swanky collections.

Aside from the opulence, most of these outfits were practical when one is reminded that they are meant to be worn during the fall and winter. They look warm and cozy. This is unique territory. Call it “pragmatic luxury,” if you will. There’s no one we’d rather take style cues from on this turf than Oscar de la Renta.