May 18, 1999
Web posted at: 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT)

PARIS (CNN) -- A book on turn-of-the-century children's clothing has ballooned into Dice Kayek's '99 spring/summer collection. "It's children's clothes of the beginning of the century, and that's always whites. And then, you know, like balloon arms, and then balloon underwear."

Always a fan of themes for her work, the Turkish-born Kayek this year says her collection is a naughty little girl, unhappy all the time.

"Everything is wrong for her, you know, and she's not romantic," Kayek says. "(She's) very masculine because she thinks she's a boy. She wanted to be a boy always, but unfortunately ... she's born a girl. And then, so it (the collection) is like an unconventional little girl."

That implied blend of masculine and feminine comes through in Kayek's fashions. She pairs romantic tulle dresses with pants. "This is quite tacky, but (it's) childish and boyish."

In another outfit, the model wears a black jacket and pants with a white, organza shirt underneath. For Kayek, the blouse gives the masculine ensemble a romantic, feminine side.

Kayek says she dresses her models as dolls wearing paper dresses, so she coats the material with plastic film to make it crisper. It gives her the look she's going for, as well as the sound. "When the models walk, it makes 'crink, crink, crink' -- very weird, unusual," Kayek says.

CNN Style Correspondent Elsa Klensch contributed to this report.