Limelight: Tour de fashion By Lubna Abdel-Aziz Those are the days when birds come back to sing in gardens about to bloom, when skies are always blue and sunsets are yellow and gold. Perfumes, colours, sights and sounds echo one another, inspiring designers to dress anew, their Eternal Eve. If the call of the wild is long and loud within you, if the warm West wind conjures dreams of gypsy chants by the quiet sea, if you yearn to display your bold and restless Bohemian streak, then this is the proper time to spread your wings and fly. Do not tarry. Seize it and fly high, for it will quickly pass and another mood will prevail. This season's fashion will help you fulfil your every dream. It can whirl you to an African Safari, an exotic Polynesian island, an ancient Aztec village, or a joyous Gypsy wedding. It is all within your reach at your nearest haute boutique, no matter where you may be. Designers have come up with an endless variety of styles this season to satisfy the gypsy in you. Feminine, colourful, crowd-pleasing new looks that indulge you while still preserving your own individual taste. With spring about to spring, and summer just at the corner, we have a long carefree windblown holiday to look forward to, at least within our wardrobes. First stop -- Africa, that dark and mysterious, giant continent with all her earthly wonders, her wild creatures forests, sunny shores and tropical climes. You need your Safari chic jacket, your khaki pants, shirts, shorts, hats and scarves. Animal prints, a classic that never really goes away, highlights zebra designs or slinky reptilian patterns. Go native -- load on that African style jewellery with no reserve; in this case, more is more, so don't be coy. At Dolce & Gabbana's, the fashionable pair have stretched the animal concept to a python extravaganza. Python is everywhere in dresses, jewellery on arms and necks -- very "Afric". These snake charmers went wild with python on everything from slithery corset dresses to sophisticated city outfits in trench coats and cropped jackets, boots, belts, bangles and bags, trés chic with lots of style. The house of Gucci, minus the excitement of a Tom Ford collection also explored the wonders of Africa with 32-year old understudy Allessandra Fachinetti at the helm. "Boho" is no scary sound. This season it stands for "Bohemian", and the look has already inundated the market in designer knock-off styles that will likely stay a while. How is it that folkloric / tribal / African / peasant / Bohemian looks run rampant in couture houses across the fashion world. They say that fashion is only an induced epidemic. Did the African style epidemic spread from Roberto Cavalli, to Gianfranco Ferré, Prada, Molinari, Rifat Ozbek, Oscar de la Renta, Proenza Schouler, travelling non-stop from Milan to Paris, London and New York! How were they all inspired by faraway seaside villages, swaying palm trees, and native islander costumes? Whatever their methods, they all came up with their exotic, tropical fruit and flowery prints, for sun-filled days, and an air of easy elegance in those delightfully feminine sequined gowns for summer's carefree evenings. Join a caravan of gypsies in Jean-Paul Gaultier's fierce and flamboyant Romany designs, with bare off-shoulder tops, dirndl dressy skirts, tailored jackets with ruffles, and all the bangles and beads you can find -- et voil�, you are stepping in style. If strains of gypsy violins leave you cold, perhaps nature's fragrant, perfumed blossoms can awaken your senses with their sultry seductive colours. Floral gardens are in full bloom from tulips to lilies, peonies to daffodils. Exquisite prints are often covered with enveloping cardigans or capelets, or neat cropped jackets, flawless rendition of ultra charm and simplicity. Chanel's collection, dubbed "French Garden", shows once again the marvel of Karl Lagerfeld, and his timeless vision for this classic name. His infusion of youth and energy into Miss Coco's perennial favourite tweed suit is amazing. The straight skirt blossomed into a dirndl, and the boxy jacket shrunk to a smaller more cropped fitted look. Hand-painted effects are part of the botanical garden themes. Dreamy pastel painted florals, tropical vibrant hot-house flowers and toile de jouy fresh prints, all sit side by side. If this overdose of Spring's exotica is too much for you, Jill Sander provides a serenely chic alternative, with soothing prints, ruffled skirts, wide pants and gentle frocks. Valentino continues to be a miracle. Not only does he dazzle regularly and consistently, with never a false note, but after 55 years in the fashion world he seems at the top of his form. Valentino always delivers a dashingly flattering compliment to his own divine "ladies who lunch", those "creatures made of spun glass". "Nowhere else in today's haute couture, is there a surviving vision of immaculate beauty like Mr Valentino's." John Galliano has recovered from last season's disaster, abandoning his extravagant ideas, to present a savvy and wearable mix of tailoring and flou in fluffed-up suits, sweet knits, velvet trousers, georgette skirts, flowered and embroidered. Key pieces for the season are -- the small cropped jacket, the voluminous full skirt, both perfect for the hour-glass figure. While pencil skirts are still in, the bigger, fuller, longer, gypsy skirt, can cover all our lower body sins, tiered, pleated, layered, or ruffled. Colour trends in chiffon, silks and satins reach new heights of tropical splendour in brighter, cleaner, more vivid, more vibrant shades. Turquoise is king, so is every hue of blue, from glacial to crystal whites, midnight blues to electric, sapphire to lapis, lavender to lilac, and everything in between. Corals are hot from flaming geranium to gentle peach. Yellows are hotter from spicy mango to lemon sherbet. On Oscar night's red carpet, designers dressed their dolls in blues and yellows. Hilary Swank in sapphire blue (Guy Laroche), Kate Winslet in periwinkle (Badgley-Mischka), Salma Hayek in midnight blue (Prada). Valentino chose sunny yellow for Cate Blanchett, and Oscar de la Renta dressed Penelope Cruz in citron yellow. Dark structured blues may become as popular as black, but black continues as a strong feature in every wardrobe, thank heavens. The flat shoe is perfect for fuller skirts, but the fancy wedge and strappy tea- dance shoes are the choice of fashionistas. Handbags are chunky with straps and hardware, in hold-all sizes, capacious enough for a book or a small bottle of water. Go wild with ropes and ropes of pearls, chunky turquoise, bridal beads and straight stiletto chandelier earrings. To complement bare wrists, gladiator cuff bangles, or several wrist bangles, enormous cocktail rings, or any big statement jewellery. Glossed lips in pinky-beige, eyes smoked with silver blue or vivid green shadows, royal blue mascara and pencil-thin groomed eyebrows for the smart and worldly woman. Dishevelled Bardot-esque hairdos if you can carry them, orchids in your blown out hair, frizzy extensions if you dare. Pony tails are best for summer breezes. The effect is a natural makeup-free tropical beauty. There is never a one-fashion look any season, but "ladylike" is the mood of the moment. More decorum in dress is required chic. Graceful and groomed, even as a wild gypsy, is the order of the day. Over-exposed flesh is now considered trashy and vulgar. The bare midriff is quite passé, and has been ditched by cognoscenti some time ago. Even the Versace woman made a clean break with a polished, refined entry into Spring. More reserved, dignified, up-scale elegance is the way to go, at least this season. Fashion involves seduction of the senses, it is a total look that must be best suited to you and enhances your inner glow. It is also fickle and fleeting. If you desire it, do it now. Do not wait until every one else has it on; that means it is on its way out. Catch it before it flies away, "...and lo -- the bird is on the wing." Great white, beautiful, wonderful world, With the wonderful water round you curled, And the wonderful grass upon your breast, World, you are beautifully dressed. -- William Brighty Rands (1823 --1882)
