NEW YORK — What is it about Orange is the New Black stars and fashion shows? All through Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, actresses in the hit Netflix series were front and center at nearly every runway presentation.
"We never get to dress up, so it's really fun for us to get all done up and be seen like kind of pretty every now and again," Taryn Manning explained before the start of the Lela Rose runway show where she snagged a prime front row seat.
"She's girly and sexy, but there's still a dash of edge," Manning said about Rose's collection. "And it fits really well."
Manning, who portrays Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett, a born-again huckster who got a new set of teeth in season two of the series set in a women's prison, looked nothing like her faded character as she posed in a long-sleeve mauve lace dress with a crop top overlay from Rose's resort collection.
"She's an amazing designer," Manning said about Rose, who hails from Dallas. "She's girly and sexy, but there's still a dash of edge. And it fits really well."
Rose's spring 2015 collection seems more overtly sexy than previous efforts, with sheer dresses in linear patterns over high-waist black panties and many looks with a cut out just above the navel to expose a triangular part of the midsection, which only the most confident woman might want to do.
But the collection, which Rose said was inspired by the modernization of a vintage kimono, still offers lots of ladylike yet sexy combos that her fans have come to expect. Dresses in oversized polka dots, water-print florals and metallic stamping reflect a Japanese influence with structured folds, wrapped bodices and voluminous back panels.
And for evening, Rose ramps up the glamour with a number of gowns made for the red carpet, including a metallic brush stroke beaded silk tulle gown that's likely to show up on an Oscar contender with awards season just around the corner.
Afterwards, Manning and other starlets, including Teen Wolf star Holland Roden, model Julie Henderson, who hails from Katy, and Top Chef judge Gail Simmons offered congrats while Rose's husband, two children and dog all seemed unfazed by the backstage hoopla.
Lela Rose woodcut floral fil coupe wrap bodice evening gown.
