http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/12/fashion/diane-von-furstenberg-jonathan-saunders-new-york-fashion-week.html 2016-09-12 14:22:23 The New DVF and the Incredible Lightness of Legacy Jonathan Saunders reimagines Diane von Furstenberg. === There is a ritual that pretty much all designers who take on a legacy brand have to go through when they start their new jobs: a visit to the archives. There, surrounded by the past, they can be steeped in the history of the house, the better to channel its essence as they enter the atelier. And indeed, when he was So far, so expected. But it’s how Mr. Saunders used his visit that made a difference — and made for an unexpected, and newly modern, interpretation of the DVF aesthetic, one that carries its history lightly on its shoulders. “I didn’t want to just reproduce a garment or a print,” Mr. Saunders said. “But rather understand why something worked, what made it resonant? What was the philosophy behind it? And then build on that.” To wit: While there were wrap dresses (of course there were, it’s DVF), they were midcalf, cut in silk on the bias, often in solids spliced with a kimono-print floral that Mr. Saunders abstracted and smudged up, or blown-out geometric scarf prints. Trousers were wide and cropped, with deep cuffs and a folded-over waist, piped in bright stripes and paired with cropped micro-sequined tees; suede trenches as unstructured as a cardigan; and short-sleeve round-neck sheaths covered in silver sequin pavee. Notably, Ms. von Furstenberg was not present at the event, the clearest sign since she appointed Mr. Saunders that she is serious about passing the torch. Letting go is never easy, but to everyone’s credit these clothes were (the models were all clowning around and lounging on one another’s laps), their complications a mere hint of provocation at the seams.