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PARIS (AP) - Serbian designer Nana Aganovich's spring-summer 2014 collection was said to be inspired by grand portraits of Elizabeth I and her layered fabrics and high collars.
If so, the queenly reference was hard to spot in the 28 outfits, which were characterized by billowing linens, tight angular hoods and soft harem pants.
Still, Aganovich put on a thoughtful and inventive Paris ready-to-wear show Tuesday, offering a collection whose strength was its play on shapes.
In one all-black look, a square hood matched square shoulders with a high collar only to blow out into the Eastern-style curviness of harem pants. It produced a unique looking and highly wearable ensemble.
Elsewhere, fabric that swept down diagonally in large rectangular earthy pink pleats from the midriff continued the exploration of shapes, at times giving silhouettes a certain ecclesiastical air.
A rich and playful jacquard motif also cropped up, sometimes accompanying a model with clown make up.
Brooke Taylor, who devises the brand concepts, said backstage: "This fabric is very jester-like. We always have a clownish element to what we do. Call it imperial gypsy."
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Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP
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