Anchor's Away, Randolph Duke's Cruise Collection Sets Sail into Summer & Resort Season

By Laura Medina

Beverly Hills' society mavens hosting the Fourth Annual Women of Distinction Luncheon, benefiting Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, were in for a treat.

Los Angeles-based and former Anne Cole and Gottex designer, Randolph Duke, reached back into his swimwear roots and presented a shimmering sea of a Cruise Collection for Summer that can set sail straight into Resort during Winter.


The most steward of pieces were classic nautical, lightweight knits in Navy Blue and calming cream, such as the trio above.


Mr. Duke proved that he mastered easy chic, the navy knit halter top with a gold anchor emblem then continued the naval color scheme into bold but stand-by geometric diamond patterns on dresses and skirts.


Naval chic would not exist if it weren't for Coco Chanel. Hence, he paid tribute in navy tuxedo suits, blazer and trouser without or with a shirt then topped with creamy strands of pearls necklaces.

Mr. Duke's Cruise Collection was not strictly nautical strict.

He glided into swimwear swimming into eveningwear by the pool or airy attire for sultry Summer nights.

Not one drop of sequin was wasted, the glittering but discreet shimmer showcased the models as stylish mermaids ready for cocktails or the elegant soiree.

Chiffon sarongs made the sequined sarongs nighttime ready. The ocean-toned,ombre sequined gown emphasized the collection's aquatic theme.

Underneath all this glamour, Mr. Duke slying deploy cruise and resort wear as double-duty, possible if constructed in quality fabrics and texture with a single tie of a sarong, turning the swimsuit into a summer gown. A method he learned working as a swimwear designer for Anne Cole and Viewpoint by Gottex.

He further delved the point of swimwear as eveningwear by taking the cover-up and loungewear into nighttime worthy cocktail dresses and gowns-in black. The sheer, ruffle wrap cover-up turned dress, so Seventies fierce yet so easy to wear. For this black subset, he stretched luxurious Cruise wear into one shoulder sharpness with severly sexy, asymetrical draping with black leaves that could easily mistaken for daggers. Who says resortwear is sloppy?

This scribe does admit this, it wouldn't be Cruise/Resortwear if there wasn't a bikini tossed in there.

For this, Randolph Duke reached into the tropics, say the Seychelles where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are honeymooning it right now.

Halter top bikinis and bandeaus literally went green in rainforest verdant and olive. He breaks it up with a black and white speckled swimsuit. However, he never left a bandeau without a sarong or a wrap skirt in rainforest prints or matching sun hats for sun protection.

For those who want to celebrate Summer with no intentation of hitting the White Parties or you want alternatives and flexibility in your travel-light carry-on, Randolph Duke gave an ocean of double-duty maillots and sarongs as evening gowns and cover-ups as dresses, sprinkled with cute, warm weather-friendly knit halter tops.