Schönberger Rolled but Didn't Rock

By Timothy Hagy

PARIS, January 30 - The Dirk Schönberger show, which took place Sunday evening in the Couvent de Cordeliers, rolled by with high tech staging - spotlights that traced models with laser precision, snow that fell from the rafters and a globe that glowed on a large screen. Despite the references to Euro rock culture, as in guitar cutouts applied like insignia, or an instrument woven into a scarf and twirled around the neck, the collection lacked the heat of past seasons.

The knitwear was certainly a high point, whether in a furry turtleneck sweater, or in the transparent mesh that reveled a model's chiseled chest. And then there were some spiffy new fabrics that blended wool with glistening gold Lurex threads, and heavy silver metal that poured down the pleats of a set of evening shirts. Sharp tailoring was evident elsewhere in short tailed jackets and trenches that were inlaid with leather strips.

The collection was certainly commercially viable, if somewhat austere, and perhaps that was all the beat that was needed.