At Doo.Ri, a focus on the complete woman

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman is not one thing. She's a complete, complex package. Her clothes need to be that way too, says Doo-Ri Chung.

"I wanted to address the really put-together woman," the designer said backstage after presenting the Fall 2012 Doo.Ri collection Friday at New York Fashion Week. "One who really takes care of herself, and who's mindful of what she puts out there. We've been so item-driven (in fashion). I wanted to change that in this collection."

And so, one of her most intriguing items, an elegant black "laser-cut" gown with lots of delicate cutouts and an embroidered neckline, was not shown by itself; It was paired with a lush black shearling jacket on top.

"It's for the fall, so it's cold," said Chung. "I imagine this is how the woman is wearing it outside."

And it's not just any woman that Chung is envisioning. "I want to dress a real woman, not a child. Someone with vision, intellect and soul," said Chung, whose designs from past seasons include a draped purple one-shoulder gown that Michelle Obama wore to a state dinner for the president of South Korea, where Chung was born.

The colors she presented for fall were sophisticated: Ink, plum, charcoal, bone, ice gray, occasionally a pale pink, and a hue called "rich brass" — a yellowy green.
There was lots of draping — in tops, skirts, sweaters — and slouching, as in a bone silk or printed silk "slouchy dress." One of her best effects was the "laser-cut" detailing — in the neckline of a gray turtleneck, on the top of a draped, hunter green dress, and, better, on the skirt of an elegant ink-colored dress.

And on that final pretty laser-cut gown: We didn't get to see the top of it, because it was covered with that nice jacket, but it sure looked like a great way to step out of the house on a chilly evening.