I see what I want to see and so do you. Overweight, Normal, or Underweight most of us mis-perceive our actual body size. Tiffany Powell reported at the Ameri…

Getting a jump on the Resort season, Diesel Black Gold‘s Andreas Melbostad was in New York this week, showing off his second collection for the brand. Studded with leather biker jackets, it’s a continuation of his confident, cool February outing, but with a somewhat gentler feel. The look is influenced by workwear—Melbostad mentioned painters, plaster workers, and even firemen, and, in keeping with those influences, coated denim with a white dust or added oversize metal toggles to jackets. Still, the results seemed subtler here. Chalk that up to several things, among them the prevalence of white and ivory (counterpointed, of course, with plenty of black), his use of silk on a couple of short, breezy dresses, and an absence of the kind of hardware that gave his earlier clothes such a tough-girl feel.

The collection’s black-and-white print was designed, Melbostad said, to resemble an “aggressive bandanna.” As graphic as the printed jeans, T-shirts, and paneled sweaters looked, they were the least persuasive, mostly because they looked somewhat familiar. A hybridized tuxedo jacket combining silk twill and denim played to the brand’s strengths, and the designer’s. Other likely hits: denim separates that combined three different washes, and a fitted, almost strict indigo utility jacket. More of a surprise was a chunky fisherman sweater that gave off an almost preppy vibe. That was something new from Melbostad. Alluding to his upcoming show in September, he promised he’ll be expanding the Black Gold vocabulary even further.
—Nicole Phelps
Runway Feed

Gucci‘s creative director, Frida Giannini, and Patrizio di Marco, the company’s president and CEO, welcomed the birth of their daughter, Greta, back in March. This did not seem to have influenced the Resort collection Giannini showed by appointment this week—until you started noticing that, cumulatively, there was a more relaxed sensibility in effect. Oversized tunics were paired up with wide-legged trousers and lightweight cashmere coats tied up like nightgowns.

If anything, the focus this time around was on rarefied materials applied to an essential travel checklist; what could be cozier than a hoodie in woven mink? And don’t leave home without your woven Lurex kimono gown, crystal-embroidered pajama set, or metallic laminated leather trench. The shimmer balanced out the slouch, but it ultimately functioned as a design sleight of hand; the real decadence was in the sense of undone-ness.

Giannini riffed on a wide range of references. It was easy enough to detect a Rio de Janeiro sunset in the hand-embroidered iridescent sequins, and day dresses printed with parasols, beach balls, and hearts looked like Jerry Hall 2.0. The horse bits were back on shoulder bags and stilettos alike; such house codes are as integral to the brand image as the glam sequin-embroidered dresses.

While there were few weak links in this generally confident collection, the jogging outfit in jumbo paisley was a less successful athletic upgrade than the warm-up jacket in ocher perforated suede. And what to make of the short-sleeve sweatshirt that read, “Stardust is a glittering superstar” in tiny studs? This was either a lost-in-translation expression or an obscure Bowie shout-out. (Gucci is currently sponsoring the David Bowie Is exhibition at London’s V&A Museum.) Much clearer was the version emblazoned with “Frida’s”—the first time Giannini’s name has appeared on any item since she arrived at the house in 2005. Now more than ever, this is Mamma Frida’s moment.
—Alex Veblen
Runway Feed

With her focus on jubilant engineered prints, “every season is Resort at Clover Canyon,” said designer Rozae Nichols at a showroom appointment. Cuba was the destination of the latest lineup, so she spliced together Havana-themed motifs like classic Caddy cars, cigars, tropical fruit, jute, and vibrant mosaic tiles—stretching and wrapping the images for a figure-flattering result. Per usual, the patterns did most of the talking, so Nichols kept the silhouettes relatively simple, adding the occasional flamenco-inspired flounce to the sleeves or hemlines of day dresses. Bomber jackets and cropped “sarong” pants gave the collection sporty appeal, as did the stretchy neoprene used throughout, notably on a strapless A-line frock and what was perhaps the most memorable piece: a novelty sweatshirt featuring a hand-drawn portrait of eccentric cigar-roller Mavis Toussaint Fuentes puffing away. For the most part, fashion seems to have moved away from the digital-print craze in favor of a more pared-down look, but according to Nichols, prints will always be the Clover Canyon medium, and she kept them looking fresh here.
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed