by Timothy Hagy

PARIS, July 2, 2005 - Sometimes you have to wonder what designers are thinking. A case in point is Bernhardt Willhelm, whose show was staged Saturday evening in the Trophy Room of the Racing Club of France. There, in a tony men’s club, he chose to unveil his interpretation of duds for “Boys From the Hood”. Being a Belgian avant-garde designer might entitle one to take risks, but the collection shown was just not convincing. How long would you last, say in South Central L.A., wearing pink leotards affixed with what looked like sprinkles, a star spangled bikini or a key lime sweat suit? Aside from a few interesting plastic wraps, the pseudo gang motif offered little reason not to push the delete button.

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