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Fashion Forecast
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L.: Leopard pattern adorns Saint Laurent dress; r.: Valentino's short full skirt

Two diverse viewpoints are demonstrated in the attitude towards fall clothes by leading designed in Paris and by those in New York. Both groups talk about a fresh look for the 1990's, but each has different concepts of how to bring this about. For the French, it is a romantic road, with strong echoes of the 1960's. Karl Lagerfeld revived the bouffant hairdo that turned women off hats and was frequently called the "beehive." Other designers took the romantic trail to fashions from far away and long ago, which inevitably brought the ethnic scheme into play.
For tropical reasons, both Kenzo and Ungaro chose Russian themes, including fur hats, laced boots, long full skirts and petticoats. Vividly colored flower patterns emphasized the peasant flavor. 
Valentine reached even further back than pre-revolutionary Russia and chose decorations from Etruscan vases as his main decorative motif. Horses, profiles, rosters and all kinds of scrolls give an exotic flavor to his day and evening clothes. They also give him the chance to mix ivory or terra-cotta with black, combinations he traditionally does so well. 
But unlike many European designers, Valentino embodies these designs in simple Western silhouettes, the most impressive of which is the full skirted shape which should be welcomed by women who find short skinny skirts too difficult. 
Yves Saint Laurent offered two major ethnic themes. One combined velvet jackets with tartan plaid skirts. The other gave a new twist to the popular leopard spot pattern by mixing the spots with irregular shaped black patches. The result was an African look that could be enhanced by feathers and beads or minimized by, say, diamonds. 
For American designers, the ethnic move seemed somewhat off the track. 
by Michelle Moore 
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Eric Jacobson
Oscar de la Renta
Accessories 
Coming this fall in selected stores.