Monday, March 3, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
2014 Resort
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez nabbed the CFDA's
Designer of the Year award on Monday night. For the third time in five
years! But you won't catch this duo lying down on the job. At their
Resort presentation today they were talking about changing their
process. "Designers have become obsessed with heavy clothes," they said,
chalking up the fixation on structure to the importance of static
online imagery. "We wanted to let the clothes move." Going forward, the
plan is to do less sketching (as has been their habit for the past
decade) and more draping.
For Resort, a sunburst accordion-pleated skirt in a color-blocked cloque seersucker and a draped, A-line silk T-shirt top exemplified this newfound interest in movement, even if the round-shoulder jacket that topped them was a callback to Fall. Where last season had a ladylike politesse, the mood here felt looser, which is very much in keeping with the general direction of the collections this week so far. Men's pants slouched from the hip bones and pooled at the ankles. The skirt on their de rigueur skirt suit was emphatically A-line, where it would've tapered in the past. And an evening dress (beaded and sack-shaped vaguely à la the twenties) peeked imperfectly several inches below the hem of a zigzag tweed cocoon coat.
A pair of draped little black dresses offered a preview of Spring. They didn't hew to the same relaxed lines, but even if they were more rigorous in their fit, they still had that ineffable Proenza Schouler cool.
For Resort, a sunburst accordion-pleated skirt in a color-blocked cloque seersucker and a draped, A-line silk T-shirt top exemplified this newfound interest in movement, even if the round-shoulder jacket that topped them was a callback to Fall. Where last season had a ladylike politesse, the mood here felt looser, which is very much in keeping with the general direction of the collections this week so far. Men's pants slouched from the hip bones and pooled at the ankles. The skirt on their de rigueur skirt suit was emphatically A-line, where it would've tapered in the past. And an evening dress (beaded and sack-shaped vaguely à la the twenties) peeked imperfectly several inches below the hem of a zigzag tweed cocoon coat.
A pair of draped little black dresses offered a preview of Spring. They didn't hew to the same relaxed lines, but even if they were more rigorous in their fit, they still had that ineffable Proenza Schouler cool.
2014 Resort
Hard-edged glamour was Jason Wu's
message last season. Like other designers we've seen this week, he's
loosened things up considerably for Resort, elongating hems to below the
knee and taking the accent off a nipped waist. His recent protestations
about a dark side notwithstanding, the new lighter mood is a good fit
for Wu.
Despite the high level of craft that went into a sleeveless dress made from basket-weave tweed and duchesse satin connected by beaded black chiffon palm leaves, it came off as quite effortless. "I wanted to do tropical, but as shadows," he said. It was likewise nice to see him reimagine his best-selling couture sweatshirt; this time around, it came in black with a satin back and a matching satin triangle below its crew neck, or with an embroidered tulle overlay. If Wu leaned too heavily on midriff-baring tops, he's not the only one to do so this season. They've begun to feel like a cliché, but he made up for it with some chicly practical outerwear, including a khaki toggle coat with a deep band of black leather at the hem, and a patent suede coat the same shade of green as the wallpaper at Indochine, one of his favorite haunts. Maybe the best look in the collection was a denim skirtsuit that he pointed out wasn't really denim at all but blue silk with a contrasting silk lining. "Nobody comes to me for a basic denim jacket," he said. In keeping with this notion, he amped up the drama for evening, showing his first formal ball gowns in a while. Kerry Washington nabbed the yellow one for the CFDAs earlier this week.
Despite the high level of craft that went into a sleeveless dress made from basket-weave tweed and duchesse satin connected by beaded black chiffon palm leaves, it came off as quite effortless. "I wanted to do tropical, but as shadows," he said. It was likewise nice to see him reimagine his best-selling couture sweatshirt; this time around, it came in black with a satin back and a matching satin triangle below its crew neck, or with an embroidered tulle overlay. If Wu leaned too heavily on midriff-baring tops, he's not the only one to do so this season. They've begun to feel like a cliché, but he made up for it with some chicly practical outerwear, including a khaki toggle coat with a deep band of black leather at the hem, and a patent suede coat the same shade of green as the wallpaper at Indochine, one of his favorite haunts. Maybe the best look in the collection was a denim skirtsuit that he pointed out wasn't really denim at all but blue silk with a contrasting silk lining. "Nobody comes to me for a basic denim jacket," he said. In keeping with this notion, he amped up the drama for evening, showing his first formal ball gowns in a while. Kerry Washington nabbed the yellow one for the CFDAs earlier this week.
2014 Resort
Alexander Wang
has built a call-and-response system between his runway shows and his
pre-collections. Fall was about big volumes and roundness. And so, as he
said in his showroom this morning, Resort is "about deflating those
proportions and flattening the structures." Pleating and darts were his
two preoccupations. That sounds like dry, technical stuff, but the new
lineup showed off his famous retail savvy. Low-slung, baggy leather
pants, a leather cheerleader miniskirt with asymmetrical darts, and a
leather dress with batwing sleeves, the results of a pattern cut on the
circle, were all instant wardrobe refreshers. Vacuum-pressed pleating at
the back of an elongated blazer and the nipped waist of a keyhole-front
smock dress were subtler interpretations of the theme. In Wang's world,
they qualify as basics.
The big surprise here was the color pink. If it's ever appeared in an Alexander Wang collection, we don't remember it. There were a lot of pastels on the racks, too. "I wanted something sweet but almost saccharine, synthetic-feeling," he said, explaining that candy wrappers were a reference point for the collection's metallic Lurex knits. At this point, the sweatshirt isn't so much a closet refresher as it is a staple. Wang kept his fresh by weaving Lurex with cellophane. He called its spongy texture a mousse knit.
The big surprise here was the color pink. If it's ever appeared in an Alexander Wang collection, we don't remember it. There were a lot of pastels on the racks, too. "I wanted something sweet but almost saccharine, synthetic-feeling," he said, explaining that candy wrappers were a reference point for the collection's metallic Lurex knits. At this point, the sweatshirt isn't so much a closet refresher as it is a staple. Wang kept his fresh by weaving Lurex with cellophane. He called its spongy texture a mousse knit.
2014 Resort
Trust Alber Elbaz to add a bit of levity to a full day of Resort
appointments. Slipping behind a desk at his Lanvin presentation this
morning, he said, "I'm going to talk about lifestyle, because I heard
that lifestyle brands are doing really well." Then he described typical
moments in his clients' lives and the perfect Lanvin
look for each. "Let's say you're on a yacht with your husband's friends
and all they talk about is money," he began, and out came a draped and
ruched silver stretch lamé minidress. Or "you're going to your aunt's
funeral, but she left you everything." Including this fabulous
multicolor glazed python trench! There were outfits for a job interview
(black skirtsuit with loafer) and your first day on the job (fuchsia
pantsuit and matching blouse), for your second dream wedding (a
multilayer tulle confection with full skirts) and an appointment with
your ex and his divorce lawyer (an embroidered gold brocade shift).
Elbaz took a wide-ranging approach to his new Resort collection, as he did for Fall. Given the season—clothes in stores for months before they go on sale, etc., etc.—its diversity will be a plus. The abundance of flats, even in one case a pair of holographic sneakers worn with a draped jersey dress, emphasized the lineup's carefree vibe. It was an attitude that was accentuated by the stretch neoprene that he said was developed by a bra company. Elbaz used it for all sorts of pieces, including a traffic-stopping red cocktail dress that, as he said, "hides all kinds of things, and shows off everything else." Who doesn't want that kind of lift?
Elbaz took a wide-ranging approach to his new Resort collection, as he did for Fall. Given the season—clothes in stores for months before they go on sale, etc., etc.—its diversity will be a plus. The abundance of flats, even in one case a pair of holographic sneakers worn with a draped jersey dress, emphasized the lineup's carefree vibe. It was an attitude that was accentuated by the stretch neoprene that he said was developed by a bra company. Elbaz used it for all sorts of pieces, including a traffic-stopping red cocktail dress that, as he said, "hides all kinds of things, and shows off everything else." Who doesn't want that kind of lift?
2014 Resort
Clare Waight Keller wears the pants. That's not a feminist bromide; it's
a sartorial fact. Even at the Met Gala last year, she opted for
trousers. They've always been part of her vision for Chloé,
but they've rarely seemed as front and center as they did today. And
now's the time. Waight Keller has been at the label for a few
revolutions of the fashion cycle: More than ever, the shots are hers to
call. "It's the new Chloé proportion," she said, definitively, after her
mini presentation today. "It's really my handwriting." The fluffed-up
volume, the soft layers, the larger pants and cropped tops. "It's easy
for me to wear," she said. "I'm not a supermodel proportion, and it's
obviously bringing a versatility to other women as well."
The pants came in a few variations for this collection—a high-waisted, floppy version in Super 120s men's suiting wool; a cropped style with folded pleats—but despite the fashion quotient, they had what Waight Keller called her "barefoot attitude." The proportions are meant to be relaxed—so relaxed you can wear them with flats. To back it up, Waight Keller showed flats: neoprene slides like glorified shower shoes with a gleaming gold band, and a flat sandal whose gold ankle fastener is modeled on the cuffs that tether surfers to their boards.
There were great bits throughout, like a sweatshirt inlaid with guipure lace and the layered "trenches" that separate into gilet and bolero. There were feminine dresses too, even if, on closer inspection, most had the pull-on ease of T-shirts. If you were looking to nitpick, you might say that the odd piece here or there had echoes of others' work. But on the whole, and especially in those trouser looks, the collection bore Waight Keller's own firm stamp. As if to christen that occasion properly, she introduced a floppy new bag, and called it the Clare.
The pants came in a few variations for this collection—a high-waisted, floppy version in Super 120s men's suiting wool; a cropped style with folded pleats—but despite the fashion quotient, they had what Waight Keller called her "barefoot attitude." The proportions are meant to be relaxed—so relaxed you can wear them with flats. To back it up, Waight Keller showed flats: neoprene slides like glorified shower shoes with a gleaming gold band, and a flat sandal whose gold ankle fastener is modeled on the cuffs that tether surfers to their boards.
There were great bits throughout, like a sweatshirt inlaid with guipure lace and the layered "trenches" that separate into gilet and bolero. There were feminine dresses too, even if, on closer inspection, most had the pull-on ease of T-shirts. If you were looking to nitpick, you might say that the odd piece here or there had echoes of others' work. But on the whole, and especially in those trouser looks, the collection bore Waight Keller's own firm stamp. As if to christen that occasion properly, she introduced a floppy new bag, and called it the Clare.
2014 Resort
The most striking image of Alexander McQueen's
Fall collection was the gilded, caged face. You could read a book into
that, just like you could interpret McQueen's Resort collection as a
release for Sarah Burton. There was something so free and organic about
the clothing and accessories that it was almost as though Burton had
become a lady of the canyon…Laurel Canyon, that is. Early on in the
genesis of the collection, Corinne Day's photos of Kate Moss in an
American Indian headdress had caught someone's eye. Carefree, vibrant
youth—that was the spirit Burton sought. The fact that she managed to
wire it to a classic McQueen trope like Travis Banton's hyper-waisted
1930s silhouette was a pretty accurate gauge of how effectively she has
twisted the signatures she inherited.
It was actually the forties that snared Burton's imagination, particularly the clothes that working women wore while their men were at war. Collections often start somewhere like that and then career off somewhere else, and this one was no exception. Still, the little dresses in a canvas cotton with their dungaree straps and unfinished seams had a sturdy Rosie the Riveter feel. Even so, under the canvas skirt were seven layers of broderie anglaise petticoats. This will always be the strange, effortful world of McQueen, where denims are patchworked together from 11 different washes and every single crocheted, brocaded, floral-ed, butterflied, broderie anglaise-ed scrap in a patchworked evening dress has been specially created. Meaning that, for Burton, release comes one look at a time.
Oh well, never mind that, because the result let the sunshine in. When you say forties and functional, the American designer Claire McCardell springs to mind, and there were echoes: a drawstring neckline on an embossed peasant top, or a prettily bowed fichu neckline. But McCardell or no, there was a real flavor of Americana in the collection. A nubuck calfskin dress—patchworked, embossed, whipstitched—felt like the product of an artisanal studio in the bowels of the Hollywood Hills. So did the tapestry-effect trousers and crocheted keyhole gown. The suede saddlebag styled as a clutch was the perfect accessory. If this was literally a new frontier for McQueen, it was—as all frontiers should be—full of promise.
It was actually the forties that snared Burton's imagination, particularly the clothes that working women wore while their men were at war. Collections often start somewhere like that and then career off somewhere else, and this one was no exception. Still, the little dresses in a canvas cotton with their dungaree straps and unfinished seams had a sturdy Rosie the Riveter feel. Even so, under the canvas skirt were seven layers of broderie anglaise petticoats. This will always be the strange, effortful world of McQueen, where denims are patchworked together from 11 different washes and every single crocheted, brocaded, floral-ed, butterflied, broderie anglaise-ed scrap in a patchworked evening dress has been specially created. Meaning that, for Burton, release comes one look at a time.
Oh well, never mind that, because the result let the sunshine in. When you say forties and functional, the American designer Claire McCardell springs to mind, and there were echoes: a drawstring neckline on an embossed peasant top, or a prettily bowed fichu neckline. But McCardell or no, there was a real flavor of Americana in the collection. A nubuck calfskin dress—patchworked, embossed, whipstitched—felt like the product of an artisanal studio in the bowels of the Hollywood Hills. So did the tapestry-effect trousers and crocheted keyhole gown. The suede saddlebag styled as a clutch was the perfect accessory. If this was literally a new frontier for McQueen, it was—as all frontiers should be—full of promise.
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