Atelier

MARA
HOFFMAN

Spring marks a year since Mara Hoffman upended
her business and embarked on the next phase of
her label: one that would be more sustainable, more
thoughtful, and more elegant, too. It was a ballsy
move, for lack of a better word, not only because she
changed her fabrics, supply chain, and sales strat-
egy, but because she changed her aesthetic, too. Out
with the body-con and graphic prints; in with the
midi dresses and organic linen! Some retailers were
hesitant to buy into the new, more chilled-out Mara
Hoffman, but the ones that stuck around have seen
the label grow and attract new, sophisticated custom-
ers — all while doing minimal harm to the earth.

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PAM &
GELA

So, Gela Nash-Taylor was minding her own business,
doing her daily workout, when her phone started
blowing up with text messages. This was July 3, the
day Vetements presented its Spring ’17 collection in
Paris — the one with the Juicy Couture homage. “I
nearly fell off the treadmill!” admitted Nash-Taylor,
who cofounded Juicy Couture with her permanent
partner in crime, Pamela Skaist-Levy. Vetements’s
tip of the hat to the iconic Juicy sweats may inspire a
few high-fashion fiends to take a closer look at Pam
& Gela, Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy’s follow-up
brand. What will they find there, this season?

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WES
GORDON

For Spring, the designer Wes Gordon said he focused
on what was “intrinsic” to the brand. “It’s walking
the line between the romantic and the modern, the
clean nineties silhouettes, but then, the handwork
and the detail,” said Gordon. He also mentioned a
tighter, more controlled approach to the collection’s
execution — citing the benefits of doing video and/or
Instagram presentations (which is now his strate-
gy) over runway shows, which require an excess of
pieces and looks.

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Wes Gordon’s inspiration comes from
seeing the world and its innate beauty
through the old-world romance of the
south, the creativity of London, and
the energy of New York City.

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ZAC
POSEN

Zac Posen’s colorful new lineup was presented in
his studio, not on the runway. As his work evolves,
the studio is an increasingly good place to take it in.
Flamboyance may have been the calling card of his
youth, but here the charm was to be found in the
delicate, three-dimensional floral embroideries on
crepe tea dresses with flutter sleeves. He did similar-
ly winning dresses in polished cotton. Together they
conjured images of a more innocent time, or at least
a more decorous one. A few pieces here and there
failed to capture the appealing lightness of those
frocks Evening brought plenty of drama. Awards
season is around the corner, Posen was quick to
point out. We can picture Upton’s embellished, off-
the-shoulder pink column on the Emmys red carpet.

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rweesaorrt

Cruise, resort, high summer, first summer... it’s no
wonder many consumers are baffled by the various
definitions for the same season. The term “resort”
came from its origins as a collection from which
designers’ jet-set clients purchased pieces for their
(northern hemisphere) summer holidays, such as
resorts or cruises. Although overseas travel has
become more prevalent and the rise of tools such as
worldwide internet shopping has made this less rel-
evant, the pre-collections have become an important
event on many designers’ calendars.

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ALICE +
OLIVIA

It’s always sunny at Alice + Olivia. Stacey Bendet’s
clothes consistently reflect her bubbly personality
and for Resort, there was plenty of that signature
peppiness throughout the collection. Though she
never gets overtly political with her designs, she
admitted that this lineup was meant to give women
a sense of escapism during our turbulent political
times. “It’s just happy, and I think that’s what people
want right now,” Bendet said at today’s preview. “I
think when you get up in the morning you want to
be excited about getting dressed and taking on the
day — part of my job as a designer is to give them a
bit of a break from reality.”

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CHRISTIAN
SIRIANO

Has Christian Siriano gone art house? It would seem
that even a designer known for making fashion
accessible can’t resist the appeal of esoteric cinema.
Nodding to Luchino Visconti with a Resort collec-
tion inspired by his 1971 Thomas Mann adaptation,
Death in Venice, Siriano picked a plum reference
point for the season. With its beachfront setting and
sumptuous Maria Fanetti costumes, the film pro-
motes luxury escapism even when it leads to tragedy.
Of course you’ll find none of its melancholy drama
within Siriano’s upbeat collection. Focusing on the
whimsy of Edwardian dressing and the androgyne
chic of the protagonist’s obsession, Tadzio, Siriano
delivered ruffled blouses, seafaring stripes, and a
wealth of pastels.

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ELIE
SAAB

The sea was Elie Saab’s starting point for Resort. It’s
a tried-and-true theme for this in-between season,
so named because it once served well-off shoppers
who had holiday-time cruises and beach vacations to
buy for. Saab, of course, is primarily an eveningwear
designer, so there weren’t the bikinis and caftans
that you might expect elsewhere. Instead, he ap-
plied his seaside motifs to his signature tulle gowns;
multicolor encrustations decorate the bodice of a
V-neck style and another with a sheer capelet and
cold shoulders. Coral and sea-life embroideries also
decorated a terrific little tulle bomber that captured
the sporty vibes he’s emphasized on his ready-to-
wear runway in recent seasons.

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For the most part Saab sidelined
the more casual attitude he’s lately
embraced in favor of glamour. Saab
made a big play for accessories this
season, too — mirrored sunglasses,
shoulder-duster earrings, bangles, and
studded stockings, too.

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HOLLY
FULTON

Preparing her debut Resort collection, said Holly
Fulton, demanded she flex her creativity in a new
and satisfying way: “We set out to do something a
bit more commercial. And I’m not known for being
rampantly commercial.” Fulton listened to feedback
from her best customers and partners, then tweaked
her practice. She pared back the embellishment,
retained the print, focused on her most successful
shapes, and produced much of the collection in cot-
ton. “I really like the challenge of doing something
within a certain price point. And it was very inter-
esting shooting the collection with just one model,
Lorna Foran; the way she interpreted the collection
was fascinating.”

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RACHEL
ZOE

Despite Rachel Zoe’s penchant for all things ’70s
vintage, the designer seems to be pivoting from her
signature boho-babe-by-day, disco-queen-by-night
aesthetic. Her business strategy may be shifting, too.
Make no mistake: Her usual frills are all here for
Resort, including plenty of ruffles, metallics, fringes,
and sequins. But as was true in her Fall 2017 outing,
it was the more modern and less embellished looks
that really succeeded here. For instance: a sharp
white long-sleeved mini dress with sheer fabric lay-
ered underneath, and a minimal black body-hugging
jumpsuit with a plunging neckline. There was one
bohemian frock in the bunch that recalled the best-
sellers of seasons past, but it seems like the sleeker,
more modern-minded Rachel Zoe is here to stay.

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SASS
& BIDE

This specific resort wear recently appointed creative
director Therese Rawsthorne’s second outing for the
brand, a lineup inspired loosely by Paris. The clothes
themselves were marked less by gamine, Left Bank
appeal, and more by the kind of no-holds-barred
glamour that might be found, say, outside of a Meat-
packing nightclub. Rawsthorne and her team took
inspiration, for one, from Baroque palace interiors,
whose gold moldings crisscrossed a pair of culottes
and strapless top.

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Profusion is never lacking in a
Sass & Bide collection, but lately
it’s seemed to make its presence
increasingly more evident.

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