Shiny Happy Season

CAROLINA HERRERA puff sleeve Peter Pan collar sequin dress $2,990; KATE SPADE sequin bow-back top $298. (Photos courtesy brands.)

CAN I TEMP YOU WITH SOME FESTIVE SEQUINS? A LITTLE SHINE? Some sparkle for your pleasure? COVID may have softened the festive mood, but our spirit for the holiday season cannot be diminished. The fun must go on — with sequins ruling the show.

Shine bright and let the celebrations begin! For three of fashion’s biggest players, 2021 has been a pinnacle year. Gucci celebrated its 100-year anniversary, while Michael Kors and Carolina Herrera both hit a respectable 40 years in the business. These powerful fashion houses reflected on their achievements by putting some serious sparkle into their celebratory collections. Founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921, Gucci showed a sleek collection rooted in equestrian heritage. Glimmering outfits included an oversized sequined silver skirt suit and a gold cowl-neck top — both felt very sophisticated for the often more eclectic style of chief designer Alessandro Michele. The standout piece of the collection goes to the long pencil skirt covered in colorful, supersized paillettes with matching opera gloves.

Meanwhile, Michael Kors stayed true to his signature style, which has done him well these last four decades by blending simplicity and glamour into a no-audience show which included at least a dozen legendary super models. Naomi Campbell in a wide-leg, black sequined catsuit with a long black coat draped across her shoulders, and Bella Hadid in a red sequined trench coat were just a few of the shimmering offerings fusing some shimmer into the season.

Completing the trifecta of celebrations is Carolina Herrera, a label she launched in 1981. This year’s, I love New York collection by creative director Wes Gordon included some fairy tale-inspired, puff-sleeved dresses in fuchsia and midnight blue which instantly gave off party vibes.

These days, I’m seeking opulence whatever the occasion — injecting glamour, whether in small doses or grand gestures. So, when the sequin trend reverberated across the current collections, I was like the proverbial moth to a flame.

Kim Smith has been a professional wardrobe stylist in Honolulu since 2004. Born a true Londoner, Smith had a successful career in public relations in the fashion industry in London for more than eight years before moving to Hawai‘i in 2002. Smith’s work spans a vast array of magazines, retailers and television as well as working with individual clients on their specific style needs. See her work at kimsmithstyle.com.