Oscar de la Renta Spring 2014

Oscar de la Renta's clothes are far too beautiful to ever be reduced to simple themes, but his Spring 2014 collection — filled as it was with his glamourous, colorful clothing — took a little inspiration from the Elizabethan era.

The designer told WWD that a portrait he owns of two noblewomen named Anne and Mary Fitton was in the back of his mind when he designed this collection. It wasn't the most obvious starting point for a collection that featured floral, polka-dotted A-line dresses and more circle skirts than you could shake a stick at, but you get the feeling that a Queen Elizabeth I wouldn't have said no to the lace collars and ruffs, elaborate embroideries, and the copious strands of pearls that came down the runway.