In front of more than 86,000 screaming fans in Norman, Okla., the UCLA defense temporarily quieted the crowd by stopping Oklahoma on its first drive. But in the seemingly safe confines of the Rose Bowl against Fresno State last Saturday, the UCLA defense couldn’t get off to the same start. The Bruins instead committed a face mask penalty on the second play of the game and gave up a touchdown on the first drive.

The first defensive drive set an ominous tone for a 38-14 loss to Fresno State that dropped UCLA to its first 0-3 start since 1971.

“I wouldn’t say we underestimated our opponent, but I would say we weren’t to the level of mental preparation where we wanted to be,” safety Quentin Lake said.

Perhaps the team’s lack of early focus showed most in the penalties, 11 in all and seven in the first half. Fresno State took a 13-0 lead after the first quarter in which UCLA rushed for just 38 yards and had 40 penalty yards.

The Bruins did both things head coach Chip Kelly said they would work to improve. They committed the procedural penalties from their season opener against Cincinnati, including two illegal formation calls and an illegal motion. They tacked on more costly penalties with holding and pass interference calls, the type of fouls Kelly said the team had to clean up after the loss to Oklahoma.

Three of the penalties Saturday negated positive plays on offense for the Bruins and four others gave Fresno State first downs. Lake’s third-down roughing-the-passer call in the third quarter of what was then a two-point game extended a Fresno State drive that resulted in a touchdown and a two-point conversion. It was suddenly a two-possession game.

“You always want to get the big hit on the quarterback,” Lake said of the penalty, “but it’s kind of a gray area of when you should let off and when you should really keep going.”

The Bruins rank 95th in the country in penalties per game (7.67). During the Jim Mora era, they never ranked higher than 86th and were 100th or lower in each of the other five seasons under Mora.

“You can’t have that many penalties and expect to be in a football game,” Kelly said.

David Koma has been obsessed with Pedro Almodóvar’s films for a very long time. “All About My Mother” was the inspiration behind his very first collection — at age 14. For this season, he rewatched “Talk To Her” and “Volver” and was moved to explore Spanish dance, specifically the dynamic flamenco, as the starting point for his spring offering.
Koma put his own, minimal, all-out sexy spin on the drama, ruffled skirts and polka dots associated with the dance, refining ruffles into structural peplums and translating dots into sheer spot mesh or shimmery plexi embellishments, which winked along the edges of shoulder seams, cutouts and hemlines.
Carmen Amaya, the late Romani flamenco dancer who would wear trousers in her performances to emphasize movement, was the inspiration behind the lineup’s terrific trousers. Also calling to mind styles worn by matadors, they were cut high on the waist, with a soft flare created by split hems.
His palette, as always, was on the noir side, freshened by white and lilac. Pieces in neon yellow or bright green looked better head-to-toe rather than paired with or trimmed in black, which made those looks seem a bit labored.
Unusually for such a specific reference, the best looks here

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Emilia Wickstead explored a lot of new territory for spring, adding tailoring and a whole lot of drama to her usual repertoire of pretty florals and feminine dresses.
It was a risk worth taking. Inspired by Eighties classics like “Working Girl,” Wickstead went on to create her own “feminist fairytale,” bringing a refreshingly new energy to her catwalk.
“I started with the setting and the vibe of the late Eighties and early Nineties, which saw this huge rise of feminism in the working place,” said the designer.
A series of both long and short tailored looks came in chic neutral tones — they channeled the boldness of the Eighties with big, structured shoulders and mini briefcases, but were also given a softer Wickstead touch by adding an array of cute, oversize hair bows.
Further down the line some more familiar silhouettes made a flash appearance in the form of ruched, flowing midi dreses featuring bright shades of red and pink or signature floral patterns. But Wickstead toughened them up here, reworking them in patent leather or rubberized fabrics to add a more modern flair.
A pleated patent sack dress, in a sugary pink shade, was a highlight. It was paired with a bejeweled headpiece that

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Peter Pilotto and Christopher de Vos transported their guests to a glamorous far-off Polynesian fantasy for spring, staging their show in the tropical environs of Trader Vic’s tiki bar under the Hilton hotel on Park Lane, a descendant of the original Trader Vic’s, founded in the Thirties in California.
The setting imbued the collection with a tropical vibe, with a palette of joyously lurid tropical hues, from sunset peach to rainforest green, violet, fuchsia, royal and sky blues, acid yellow, seafoam, vermilion and marigold yellow — all shot through with flashes of gold and silver.
But the collection’s inspiration came via a less exotic source: the works of French Art Nouveau glass artist Émile Gallé, who made use of a miscellany of botanical forms in his sometimes iridescent or frosted floral patterns. The duo translated this source into a collection that was as sophisticated as it was fun.
There were hints of colonial splendor in touches like the frogging closure that fastened a sharply tailored striped pantsuit, the tassels that swung from rope belts around floral gowns or from pearl-encrusted bags, and in the twisting fez hats done in shimmering fabrics. There were nods to the silhouettes of the Thirties and Seventies, and

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Roksanda Ilincic knows how to create clothes that are both elegant and friendly to women.
For spring 2019, she continued to tell the same story, with a lineup that had ease and fluidity at its core.
Her signature billowing blouses, flowing satin midi dresses and roomy culottes were back on the runway, updated with lightweight linens and crinkled cotton fabrics — the idea being to mirror the textures on a series of tapestries by famed architect Le Corbusier.
Ilincic, whose flair for modernism is heavily informed by architecture, was also inspired by the illustration of “beautiful, round female bodies” on the tapestries. She translated them in the form of embroideries added all over A-line midi dresses, as well as patchworks printed on everything, from skinny satin scarves to a dramatic maxi skirt and a column gown.
An expert colorist, Ilincic also offered a range of loosely tailored, striped pieces and satin dresses in graduating shades of red and yellow that aimed to reflect spicy, natural shades.
“The color palette was connected to sand and to the desert, it was very much about sunsets and spice and colors that recall turmeric, poppy, limoncello — we gave them all these yummy names,” she said backstage.
Movement and practicality reigned

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As female empowerment messages continue to thrum through fashion, trust Christopher Kane to give his a scientific and subversive edge.
“Sex in nature,” David Attenborough intoned over the throbbing beats as Kane’s models stalked the concrete underbelly of the Tate Modern in one of his most glamorous and focused collections to date. It featured prominent shoulders, leggy silhouettes, praying mantis T-shirts — the female sometimes eats her partner after coitus — and more lace crotches than in all the strip clubs of Soho.
The latter he agglomerated into armor-like bodices on little black dresses or ones with long pleated lace skirts. Despite the lurid source material, they made for striking and unabashedly steamy clothes and high-heeled shoes, the latter with crotches as tongue-like vamps lapping over the instep. (Crocs, the unsexy and ungainly footwear Kane recently paraded, made a disappearing act.)
Kane has a habit of spinning out too many ideas. Here he kept them on a tight leash, sticking mainly to jewel-toned brocades and lace, some prim white cotton and glossy silks. Bands of crystal outlining shoulders, arms and bodices added more glitz. There was a soft edge to this collection, too, in the form of a fluttery white dress pieced together from small

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NICOLE MILLER CLEANS HOUSE: In an effort to do her part to reduce plastic refuse, the New York designer has lowered the boom in-house on staffers to do a better job of recycling. She first made her case in the company’s internal newsletter about four weeks ago. By using refillable cups instead of throwaways, the 80-person company has reduced plastic trash by 100 percent in that time, Miller said.
But the designer is not new to recycling, having made various efforts through the years. Hangers and plastic bags are among the necessities that are used again and again. Filtered water was offered to the company’s 80 staffers years ago. Miller said, “I was very frustrated by the huge pile of plastic cups in the recycle bin every night. I got on everyone’s case about bringing their own coffee cups and cold drink cups. And the more I got into it the more issues there were.”
Miller has also used the newsletter to remind employees about using a refillable water bottle at the gym and having mesh bags at the ready for grocery store and other shopping. The Seventh Avenue office is eliminating plastic cups and bowls in favor of paper or glass

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After a two-year trip abroad — to Paris and then Shanghai — the extravaganza and hype machine that is the Victoria’s Secret fashion show is returning to New York.
In a series of posts to Instagram Monday, the brand touted: “Start spreading the news…the #VSFashionShow is back in New York City!” The posts pictured the brand’s “angels” toting their wings about town, hailing a cab, emerging from the subway and passing through Grand Central Terminal.
Together the three posts racked up 1,400 comments in just a few hours — illustrating the reach of the event, which is preparing for its 23rd outing.
For the 2016 production in Paris, the brand imported 70 tons of equipment, 18 miles of cable and 51 of the world’s top models.
Last year, the show ran into other complications in Shanghai, when visas were denied to Katy Perry, reportedly after her perceived support for Taiwan, and Gigi Hadid and others.
Having the show in New York should avoid those kinds of difficulties, but the big question for the business is whether the show can help bring some vigor back to the brand, which has been casting about for direction and looking to reverse a trend of sales declines in its stores.

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Sculptresse wants to showcase the breadth of its collection, which is why it has launched a campaign called “The Fit. The Form. The Feeling.” It features models Precious Lee, Riley Ticotin and Jourdan Jerome wearing everyday lingerie basics and more fashion-forward options. The line, which was launched in 2013 from the designers behind Panache, ranges from 34 to 46 band size and D through K cups.
Sculptresse also worked with influencers on videos to be featured on social media platforms. Georgina Home of Fuller Figure Bust, Charli Russon of Curvy Girl Thin and journalist and author Bryony Gordon are filmed speaking about how they feel when they wear the brand in order to underscore that its assortment is functional and sexy.

“This is a way for us to champion women of all shapes on how a gorgeous bra that fits can give her confidence and power,” said Anna Shnir, sales manager at Panache and Sculptresse. “These amazing images combined with social influencers speaking openly and honestly about their experience with lingerie is a great way to start the discussion — lingerie comes in all sizes, and it can both be pretty and functional at the same time.”

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DALLAS — It seems that Dallas and Neiman Marcus can’t get enough Oscar de la Renta.
On Friday, the house was featured for a record fifth time at the prestigious 10 Best Dressed Women of Dallas Luncheon at Neiman Marcus’ downtown flagship.
The retailer has underwritten the fund-raiser for 44 years for the Crystal Charity Ball, a high-society, all-women nonprofit that will disperse $6.5 million among eight children’s charities in April. Friday’s event will contribute $900,000 to that.
The anachronistically named luncheon is a cornerstone of the philanthropic social calendar that consistently attracts billionaires Gene Jones, Nancy Rogers, Nancy Dedman and Annette Simmons plus more than 500 other well-heeled women. Laura Bush has been a regular guest since she and former President George W. Bush retired to Dallas in 2009.
The 10 best dressed — Anita Arnold, Delilah Boyd, Lisa Cooley, Jennifer Dix, Tucker Enthoven, Cate Ford, Cara French, Amy Hegi, Kimberly Whitman and Piper Wyatt — were honored for their civic contributions along with Robyn Conlon, who moved into the charity’s “hall of fame,” and honorary chair Norma Hunt, who was one of the original 10 best dressed at the inaugural luncheon 45 years ago.
All 12 honorees plus the event chairs and a

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