Updated Nov. 6, 2013 11:12 a.m. ET
An increasing number of fashion designers and gala-goers are ditching the traditional tuxedo and floor-sweeping gown in favor of more creative evening wear.
The new designs are more cutting-edge than the old-school formal look. In some cases they feel more sporty and casual. Prices, though, remain every bit as eye-popping.
Jason Wu sent a tuxedo jumpsuit for women down the runway in September for his Spring 2014 collection. Prabal Gurung, for his Resort 14 collection hitting stores this month, paired a dressy white-acetate sable blouse hand-embroidered with ostrich feathers with navy tuxedo-stripe pants that were so sporty and slouchy, they could have passed for high-end sweatpants.
Altuzarra's draped, gold-metallic knee-length tank dress, the finale for his Spring 2014 runway show, featured an asymmetrical hemline, resulting in a dramatic high slit, and pockets for the hands.
"Having an evening dress with pockets gives a much more casual and nonchalant attitude, which I think is very fresh for evening," said the designer, Joseph Altuzarra.
Evening dresses in his latest collection are generally shorter than the typical evening gown, which he said allows for easy movement and comfort.
The arrival at Dior last year of designer Raf Simons kick-started the trend, and some of the most novel evening-wear twists this year owe something to him.
Mr. Simons continues to (literally) cut up the traditional evening gown, hacking off the bottom, making it asymmetrical, or making it long in back and short in front and then pairing it with trousers.
He has been showing evening "separates," as well as long women's tuxedo jackets worn as dresses and extremely abbreviated evening dresses with pants.
Some bolder efforts already have shown up on the red carpet. Last month, Rooney Mara wore a pleated metallic evening dress from Proenza Schouler's Spring 2014 line to the premiere of the movie "Her" at the New York Film Festival.
Julianna Margulies sported a striking white-and-black tuxedo jacket with matching flared tuxedo trousers by Michael Kors at the God's Love We Deliver Golden Heart awards ceremony in New York.
An increasing number of female celebrities, including Beyoncé and Emma Stone, have eschewed the mermaid gown in favor of a jumpsuit for award shows and premieres.
Men are selecting nontraditional riffs on the tuxedo, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who wore a black lace tuxedo jacket, designed by Thom Browne for the Black Fleece by Brooks Brothers line, to the Emmy Awards in September.
Debbie Bancroft, a New York social fixture and society writer, said she has noticed some charity-gala attendees are wearing evening looks with "more edge."
"You'd see more of that at the Whitney [museum] than the opera, but it seems everyone is getting more expressive," she said.
"Maybe because there is such an emphasis on celebs at even the most traditionally staid events—laypeople are both panting to keep up, and, I think, feeling a little liberated," she added.
One of Ms. Bancroft's friends, Minnie Dubilier, recently wore a patterned stretch-leather Yola Colón mini dress with a long lace coat from Los Angeles designer Les Habitudes and black Yves Saint Laurent ankle boots to the Whitney Museum's annual fall gala.
"It was not a black-tie event," Ms. Dubilier said. "The dress code said 'glamorous.' " Of other guests' reaction, she added, "No one was like, 'What are you wearing?' in a negative way." But she did get attention. "They just said 'Wow, you look great,' " she says.
Carmen Marc Valvo is best known for his long, curve-hugging gowns, but the designer said he wanted to leave his comfort zone for Spring 2014.
Mission accomplished. Some of his new evening dresses are tunic-length, sometimes with a sheer, cocktail-length skirt shown underneath. With dropped torsos and mesh- or scuba-inspired fabrics, they had a stark, futuristic-yet-tribal vibe. He was intending to expand his audience to a younger woman with the edgier looks, but to his surprise, core customers expressed interest in the looks, he says.
Last year, Carolina Herrera launched the Night Collection of evening wear, including shorter dresses, tuxedos and evening separates ensembles of shirt-and-skirt or shirt-and-gown.
Even the traditional white wedding dress is no longer sacred.
Ms. Herrera, known for her floor-sweeping wedding gowns and who often wears a ball skirt herself, last month came out with a collection of shorter bridal gowns, inspired partly by brides who change into a shorter formal dress between the ceremony and the reception.
Write to Ray A. Smith at ray.smith@wsj.com
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