Spring/summer 2000

Rowley offers men foolproof fashions

June 6, 2000
Web posted at: 10:38 a.m. EDT (1438 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hey, you fashion-challenged guys who don't know paisley from pinstripes: Relief is in sight.

According to designer Cynthia Rowley, "anything goes" in her spring/summer collection for men. She offers an array of shirts and trousers to mix and match, regardless of print, color or style.

SPRING/ SUMMER 2000 Collections: Mischka and Badgley Bella Freud Alannah Hill De la Renta Randolph Duke Cynthia Rowley DKNY Vera Wang Calvin Klein Swimwear SS2000 Beene Men's shirts Shoes 2000 Valentino Narciso Rodriguez Versace Sonia Rykiel Balmain Badgley and Mischka ArmaniClements Ribiero Guinness purses Accessories 2000 Jewelry for 2000 Dries Van Noten Gucci Marc Jacobs Michael Kors Ralph Lauren Chanel Missoni Bill Blass

"I mixed prints just to kind of exaggerate a point," she said. "Where there's a print, it's always mixed with another print, and the solids are with solids."

Her inspirations come from two fictitious, unlikely sources: an international playboy-in-training and a washed-up tennis pro from Greenwich, who's still clad as if he and his racquet were still '70s swingers.

The effect, Rowley said, is like a "bomb went off in a Skittles factory," with bursts of orange, yellow, pink, red and green. She tempers those candy-colored brights with khaki, denim and white, creating prints that include florals, stripes and embroideries.

Fashion fast-forward

While her outfits may be fun and comfortable, Rowley admits that it takes an adventurous man to wear one.

"I'm showing a lot of print bottoms (pants), which I think only the most forward -- most -- guys would wear," Rowley said.

But she's betting fashion-conscious men will take a chance on her.

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"You see guys on the street, and they're obviously kind of experimenting and excited about new things," Rowley said. "You see guys that are doing things with their hair and ... accessories and shoes and bags and everything.

"I think that'll continue and I hope that ... guys just get more and more adventurous."

CNN Style Correspondent Elsa Klensch contributed to this report.

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