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"  From the demure &amp;#039;30s silhouettes of Joanne Cordero Reyes&amp;#039; delicate, expertly draped and ruched dresses, one would never guess she found inspiration in the innumerable fountains that dot the streets of Paris and Florence. But that&amp;#039;s just how the fall collection of Vicente Villarin\u2014named after Cordero Reyes&amp;#039; grandfather, a classical composer\u2014was born. A year ago, the designer aimlessly walked the two cities, gazing at timeworn ruins set against the stormy European skies of autumn. She first traveled to Paris in 2001 to take design courses at Parsons, followed by a job as a freelance designer for a small French atelier, Ji Haye Couture (and eventual stints at serious dressmakers J. Mendel and Monique Lhuillier). &amp;quot;I learned about what was possible with fabric, how to paint watercolors on chiffon, batiking, and smocking,&amp;quot; Cordero Reyes says. She brings this couture craftsmanship to her own hand-detailed collection of majestically moody gowns in specialty materials like a rocky sable woven crepe. The designer softened her structural aesthetic by borrowing lines from Antonio Canova&amp;#039;s Cupid and Psyche sculpture, housed in the Louvre. &amp;quot;I implemented the construction and shape of this beautiful vision of stone from my travels,&amp;quot; Cordero Reyes says, &amp;quot;but my pieces are more about a certain kind of lost, old-world romanticism.&amp;quot; "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/a9402/renaissance-woman-261188/?click=smart&kw=ist&src=smart&mag=ELM&link=-SMT-ELM>