There is a funny disconnect in learning that sister-and-brother duo Camilla Freeman Topper and Marc Freeman used Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud as a starting point for their new Camilla and Marc collection. Their clothes have none of Bacon’s bilious color, and even less of the unsettled abstraction conveyed in the famous painting, which Christie’s sold for $ 142.4 million last year. In the end, it was the geometric frame enclosing Freud on the triptych that inspired the Australian designers, who went so far as to have a similar piece made for their video and lookbook.

While its sharp linearity appealed to the designers, they ended up with a more feminine balance thanks to floaty organza, a strong diamond jacquard, and soft georgette, all in a palette of mostly black, red, and white. Their checkered lace was the winning material; the openwork grid was pretty and assertive in equal measure. It also conveyed the “game board” theme they used as an additional frame of reference to convey “power and confidence.” It’s in these instances that you wonder whether ideas detract from execution. And yet the designers maintained their figure-flattering silhouettes—waist-emphasizing, knee-grazing, décolletage-baring—and even managed to introduce a neoprene duffle coat and flawless silk satin pant that showed their ability to think forward and finesse. Get past the Bacon comparisons and the other influences and you’re left with a strong, wearable collection that can hold its own.
—Amy Verner
Runway Feed

The See by Chloé team used three key terms starting with “p” to describe the new Fall collection: pretty, preppy, and party-ready. Those words not only described the lineup, they also spoke to the carefree nature of the diffusion brand in general. This season, Clare Waight Keller and co. put a youthful spin on typically grown-up fabrics such as pied-de-poule tweed, which was blown up and shown on flirty drawstring miniskirts and hooded bomber jackets. Meanwhile, a delicate Chantilly lace with a gold foil finish was cut into sporty sweatshirts, wispy slips, and thigh-grazing shifts that looked modern accompanied by a faux fur collar and basket-weave loafers with a slight David Bowie vibe. The faux fur incorporated throughout—on a plush, melon-colored chubby and shearling effect toppers—looked like the real deal (without the luxury price tag, of course). Other playful highlights included basic shirtdresses and button-ups with sequined, trompe l’oeil accents, as well as easy silk separates featuring a “galaxy” print inspired by one of Karl Lagerfeld’s original patterns for the French fashion house from the early eighties. All in all, a very energetic and wearable outing from SBC.
—Brittany Adams
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Since launching Cerre in 2005, L.A. husband-and-wife duo Clayton and Flavie Webster have developed a following for lambskin biker jackets that are handcrafted in their Melrose Avenue atelier. In recent years, the West Coast brand has been tapped by A-list costume designer Trish Summerville to create hundreds of custom pieces for Hollywood blockbusters The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. But if it’s Cerre’s perfect Perfectos that continue to draw new customers, it’s the increased focus on tailoring that keeps them coming back. This season, the Websters focused on a comparatively relaxed silhouette with high-waisted, wide-legged trousers and slouchy suiting separates that gave off a confident, androgynous vibe à la Katharine Hepburn. Elsewhere, they cut more feminine pieces from menswear-inspired materials that didn’t feel too precious. A one-shouldered black dress and circle skirt—both of which featured flattering, asymmetric cascades—came in a luxe felted wool that was also used on a windowpane-check poncho. As usual, outerwear was a particular strength here, with standouts including sumptuous wrap coats accented with subtle architectural pleats around the neckline. In terms of leather items, a swingy trapeze dress and tough pencil skirt with a zipper that curved around the hip felt fresh. Ditto went for the oversize, buckled hobo bag. Instead of models, the latest short video stars real friends and supporters of the brand, such as fashion editor Annina Mislin and Natalia Bonifacci. “People always ask us, ‘Who is your woman?’ We have her and decided to show her off this time around,” they explained.
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed

Vika Gazinskaya has a small fear of tattoos, but that didn’t stop her from positioning them throughout her Fall collection. They appear as vintage emblems, with both “Vika” and “Viktory” on scrolls wrapping around hearts or held up by multicolored swallows. Last week, the Russian designer learned she’s among the finalists for the generous LVMH Prize (which will be awarded for the first time in May), so the motif could prove self-fulfilling. But in any case, she staggered them judiciously enough—here on a gray felt baseball cap, there as a trompe l’oeil effect on a stretch bodysuit—that they didn’t steal attention from the collection’s other strong elements. Strongest of all: the almond-shaped shoulder cutouts that transformed a high-necked sweatshirt or blouse into a vaguely 1950s look. Think Roman Holiday redux. Gazinskaya extended this sensibility to a soft-washed wool dress and pleated tapered pants. Then she pushed it from nostalgic to new with an oversize, ruffled gingham placket tunic dress and a bell-shaped shearling vest hand-painted an ombré surf green.

The tattooed “Vika” lettering, by the way, has one additional meaning: a nod to the influential Russian rock artist Viktor Tsoi, who died in 1990 at the age of 28. Gazinskaya said she kept returning to his Soviet poetry on love and death. Such overarching themes were barely obvious in her nuanced collection—although the shimmery, champagne-hued tattoo dress did signal a certain desire to lay everything bare. It conveyed the sophisticating of an ingenue.
—Amy Verner
Runway Feed

What’s the philosophy behind Crippen? No one speaks to the brand’s ethos better than Susie Crippen herself. This season, the Los Angeles-based designer, who launched her namesake collection in 2012, went in front of the camera to articulate her credo. “I love making things for women. I love that conversation I get to have with them. I love creating something for women who were too busy to do it themselves,” she said. “I do not want to give up ease and comfort for style. Everything that I do comes from a very strong place of logic and how women think.”

Keeping this in mind, Crippen aims to create understated, everyday clothes that will take her customers through the entire week—from the office to after-work events to a soccer game on Saturday—and there’s an underlying emphasis on functionality. Denim has been a core category from the beginning (which makes sense, given Crippen was a cofounder of J Brand), but in addition to premium jeans, the collections have evolved to include tailoring, knitwear, and lots of leather. Themed “Winter Gatsby,” the new lineup reinterprets traditional menswear elements in a casual, feminine way. A sharp suit with slim, cropped trousers came in a flecked tweed with just a hint of sparkle, while a graphic bouclé topcoat nicely balanced tough with soft. Crippen ramped up her sweaters this time around with engineered ribbing, discreet notches, and side vents that took them from basic to beautiful. Other highlights included a snug, slightly cropped biker jacket boasting utilitarian patch pockets, as well as a standout shearling originally inspired by the one worn by Anouk Aimée’s character in the 1966 film A Man and a Woman. At a showroom preview, Crippen explained, “Ever since I first saw that movie twenty years ago, I’ve been searching for one just like it. Finally, I was like, ‘Let’s just do it, let’s just make it ourselves.'”
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed