Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.
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There’s always a lot to take in at an Opening Ceremony presentation. This morning, that included a parade of models down Howard Street, two lithe live violinists whom Carol Lim and Humberto Leon had discovered busking in the subway, and the much-expanded Opening Ceremony store itself, where the presentation was held. Then, of course, there were the clothes: Lim and Leon chose to show their women’s Resort and men’s Spring collections in tandem, and both of these collections mashed up a multitude of materials and ideas. Sensory overload has become something of a signature of the OC brand.

At any rate, the ideas here were worth exploring. Conceptually, the most interesting one was about magnification vs. micro-fication, demonstrated in prints that featured photographic fronds and palm trees, on the one hand, or magnified bacterium (or something) on the other. One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small. And the trippiest print of all, for some reason, was the one with all the anemones. Why anemones? Why not? Lim and Leon used the anemones in both the men’s and women’s collections.

From the point of view of sales, meanwhile, the most interesting thing in the women’s collection was the new denim. As Leon explained, Opening Ceremony has no intention of getting into the skinny denim trade; they just want to use denim as a fashion fabric. They’ll find lots of takers for their printed and stitch-detail minis and jeans, which looked particularly good paired with this collection’s fine, graphic ottoman knits.

Over on the menswear side of the store, the vibe was more sporty. Mesh, zip details, anoraks. Fabrications were key here, with cool materials like a latex-coated cotton done in yellow or a spongy technical that gave pieces like a natty gray coat a futuristic feel. The op-art knits compounded the trippiness. Taken together, these men’s and women’s collections may mark the moment that Opening Ceremony matured its tone from quirky-cute to downright weird. Which isn’t a bad thing in the least.
—Maya Singer
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Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi have got their Preen by Thornton Bregazzi thing down to a science. Sport elements, fractured pattern, an emphasis on the dressy-but-not-too-dressy dress, the color red—these are some of the boxes Thornton and Bregazzi tick off in their collections, season in and season out. Given the emphasis on commerce, Resort isn’t the season to ask for a major update. But one is starting to seem due. In the meantime, however, this collection made for a pleasant visit back to the Preen comfort zone, with a lot of appealingly breezy dresses in a fractured ikat-inspired pattern of silk dévoré, and others in an irregular dot. They also included activewear references, like zips, mesh, and the graphic line down the side of a pair of trousers. There were a couple of dubious looks—a blazer with nylon anorak sleeves, for instance—but in general Thornton and Bregazzi did yeoman’s work on the details of these clothes, and the best pieces here had a sense of surprise as a result of that. Perhaps the single most compelling look, for example, was the trenchcoat, cut long or short, with an interior halter that made it seem to be falling off the shoulders a bit and neon vinyl stripes along the cuff. There’s some kick in the old Preen codes yet, that’s for sure.
—Maya Singer
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Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.
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Change is in the air at Sonia Rykiel, with Julie de Libran on deck to assume her new role as artistic director for Spring ’15. Still, that didn’t preclude Geraldo da Conceicao—who spent two years there—from making his final Resort collection for the French label a strong one. The latest offering began with a series of busy, patterned jacquard looks that keyed into a seventies menswear aesthetic. While the full-on pantsuit felt a bit fussy, a printed blouse (styled with a wisp of a lace bralet underneath) tucked loosely into matching high-waisted culottes packed a one-two, masculine-feminine punch.

As the lineup progressed, the silhouettes softened up significantly—and to winning effect. Updating house signatures, Da Conceicao put a modern twist on sparkly Lurex separates and gauzy georgette shirtdresses. In regards to those famed knits, highlights included clingy tennis sweaters and a Mondrian-esque color-blocked number piled with a striped scarf wrapped around the neck. Accessorized with patent mule loafers featuring whimsical gold charms that spelled out “Amour,” the outfit was quintessentially Rykiel.

Elsewhere, Da Conceicao revved things up with a playful motorcycle motif found on intarsia pullovers, embellished T-shirt dresses, and even a few novelty helmets (that were admittedly a tad overkill). Was Madame Rykiel herself a biker babe? “No. But she would be riding in the back having fun, dangling her cigarette,” said granddaughter Lola Rykiel at a preview, adding, “The clothes are very sexy dangerous, but still very bourgeoisie.” On the more subtly sophisticated side was a standout group of tailored pieces cut from nude-colored crepe paired with the aforementioned lace bralet. They captured a certain sensuality that has largely gone missing at the brand in recent seasons—something that De Libran will surely address when she gets situated at her new Saint Germain address.
—Brittany Adams
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