Jen Kao
Sure there was sand on the runway and there were floaty dresses and soleless sandals at Jen Kao’s show at Milk yesterday, but there was a dark undercurrent running through her collection. Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Games” played for the entire length of the show, and Kao’s line sheets said that she was “inspired by the arid sands and shifting light of the powdery dunes where desert princes find their zombie brides.” Ok…? The zombie bride thing didn’t exactly come across but Kao’s color palette–sand, off-white, dusty rose–certainly gave off a desert vibe. Models strolled through the sand in over-sized slouchy knits and loose airy dresses, most of which were crocheted and macramed, and paired with soleless macrame thongs and shin guards. The stand out look? A dusty rose gown with intricate paneling at the bodice.