Smiles and song at lighthearted DVF show

NEW YORK (AP) — You know that sullen model stare?

Diane von Furstenberg was having none of it at her New York Fashion Week show on Sunday, in which she channeled the theme of the sunny French Riviera in the 1950s. Many of her models smiled as they sauntered down the runway in little gingham numbers or other cheery prints that succeeded in being both sweet and sexy.

Those models included none other than supermodel Naomi Campbell, who closed the show in a short, multicolored chiffon "boudoir dress," delighting attendees like Whoopi Goldberg.

And the designer herself? She broke into song as she acknowledged the crowd at the end, not merely waving from the runway entrance, as most designers do, but taking an entire lap around the runway, shaking hands, kissing friends and even singing a few bars of the 1970s song "Paroles Paroles" (Words, words) along with the soundtrack.

Before the show, von Furstenberg said she was thinking not just of the Riviera sun, but of French 1950s actress and sex symbol Brigitte Bardot, and also simply of "happiness," when she designed her collection for spring 2015.

The designer was especially fond of gingham for the show, and it took many forms: in tops, in partly sheer dresses, on bags and even on stiletto-heeled sandals.

"It was flowy, and beautiful," Goldberg opined after the show. "And THEN, you had Naomi Campbell!"