For nearly a decade, Jasmin Shokrian has been quietly creating thoughtful clothes that reflect her interest in the arts. This season, she reported that sales of her Spring ’14 collection are up by 300 percent—all thanks to a white T-shirt that read “Je pars habiter a Los Angeles.” The success of that relatively simple, Instagram-able top (in English, it says, “I want to live in Los Angeles”) got the designer thinking about the split-second attention span that social media fosters by bombarding us with thousands of images a day. At a Fall preview, Shokrian wondered, “How do we differentiate our own memories from things we’ve visually absorbed now?” She addressed that idea with a cerebral video starring Malu Byrne that strings together fragmented quotes such as “People’s memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive” from Haruki Murakami’s novel After Dark.

For Fall, Shokrian revisited the wordplay of her popular T-shirt on pullovers and tote bags splashed with “Arte Povera,” a tribute to the mid-century modern art movement that partially inspired her this season. She went on to cite Persian architecture and the particular black-blue shade of caviar from the Caspian Sea as additional influences. All of this played out in a range of sculptural navy pieces (many of which were cut from a terrific silk faille that resembled technical nylon), which articulated Shokrian’s fascination with shapes. Highlights included a slightly retro swing coat, wool wrap skirts, and dressy culottes that would look nice at a cocktail event. Compared with recent outings, there was a sportier vibe here exemplified by organza sweatshirts, sweatpants trousers, and a windbreaker jacket. Many of the looks were finished off with a statement-making bucket hat (watch out, Pharrell) that doubled as a daytime clutch. Only time will tell whether it will become as popular as Shokrian’s Los Angeles tops.
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed

There’s a personal narrative behind each of Rachel Antonoff‘s idiosyncratic collections and their creative, correlating videos. This season, the spunky designer referenced one of her favorite novels, Marijane Meaker’s 1972 queer coming-of-age classic, Shockproof Sydney Skate. Antonoff paid tribute to the book’s female protagonist, whose pockets and handbags are always full of matchbooks, with a scratchy matchbook plaid found on casual cotton separates, and a pair of brushed-wool overalls featuring “No Smoking” embroidery. Other playful touches included a dashed-off tic-tac-toe motif that turned up on feminine silk wrap dresses and the lining of vibrant wrap coats, as well as an illustrated print depicting a cast of eccentric ladies, which ties into the Fall film.

In the short flick, Antonoff portrays a group of oddball women getting ready—each in her own peculiar way—for a night out. It’s a celebration of their various primping routines and such “mundane secrets” as draping stray hairs over house plants to interpretive dancing. All of the preparation leads up to the characters playing in an orchestra led by renowned contemporary artist Laurie Simmons. In general, there’s an offbeat humor about everything Antonoff does. Her novelty items may have the most immediate appeal, but the rest of the retro-preppy range shouldn’t be overlooked. Other highlights from the new lineup included color-blocked miniskirts, trompe l’oeil knits, and schoolgirl jackets. Antonoff also whipped up several nice trouser styles; one pair was pleated with ultrawide legs, while another fit like sweatpants with an elastic waistband. With the latter, Antonoff wanted to address “how to feel your absolute most comfortable and still be presentable enough to leave your house.” Surely, her customers will appreciate that emphasis on ease.
—Brittany Adams
Runway Feed

Dior in Brooklyn. Who would’ve ever imagined those two proper nouns together in a single sentence? Alexander Wang broke the outer-borough barrier back in February when he showed at the Navy Yard’s Duggal Greenhouse. But Dior, the storied French house and LVMH bigwig Bernard Arnault’s baby? It happened tonight, and the likes of Rihanna, Marion Cotillard, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Leelee Sobieski, Allison Williams, Margot Robbie, the artist Sterling Ruby, and designers including Christian Louboutin and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough arrived by water taxi and town car to witness fashion history in the making. Bureau Betak spent nearly a week constructing an elevated floor at Duggal that situated the show’s 1,000-plus guests at window level. The Manhattan views vied for attention with the LED light display at the opposite end of the warehouse space.

Neither could compete with the clothes. This was another lively, smart, lovely collection from artistic director Raf Simons, one that married the practical realism the designer says he sees among his new American clients (he’s been at Dior only two years) and typical French chic. Simons took up the silk scarf—le carré, as they say in Paris—as the show’s leitmotif. It meant that these clothes were more fluid than the sculpted and molded silhouettes of some of his previous collections for Dior. Softer and breezier but without sacrificing the clean, modern look that is so identifiably Simons, or skimping on the wearability factor. Despite the show’s laser focus, Simons had propositions for all occasions.

The feminine silhouette was ultra-high-waisted with long, lean trousers and flaring, knee-length skirts (including at least one in sheared fur) scraping the rib cage. On top there were torso-limning, backless silk camisoles in graphic, abstract prints or draped and layered tops with a boxy, geometric fit. Simons explained he found some of the prints in the house archives; others were created for the show. “I wanted to explore print without being too romantic about it,” he said. “I was surprised by how raw and artistic some of the archival scarves were.” You’d never call the prints and patterns in tonight’s show dainty, not when they were boldly juxtaposed three against each other, as in the case of a cocktail dress that combined multicolor sequins with embroidered flowers with chevroned stripes. Simons’ January couture sneaker evolved here into a sport sandal with scarf straps; it gave printed tunics and long silk evening skirts a fresh, zippy attitude.

There were sixty-six looks in the collection. When Dior president and CEO Sidney Toledano made notice of that fact before the show, he told Simons, “Did you know? This is the sixty-sixth year that Dior Inc. U.S.A. exists.” A total coincidence, Simons asserted, but one that had a special meaning for him. “Christian Dior was a bit superstitious, and I am too.” And, more important, “There was always a strong relationship between Mr. Dior and U.S. clients. It makes sense for us to come here now.”
—Nicole Phelps
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“I can’t show you a stretch pant and a T-shirt.” That was Tomas Maier in the Bottega Veneta showroom today, presenting the label’s Resort collection for 2015. Some designers do take a straightforward approach to in-between seasons like Resort and Pre-Fall, but Maier’s not one of them. BV’s creative director is as intrigued by process as he is by the final product, a fact that his new clothes crystalized.

He started with the idea of bleach and how laundering a garment in the stuff can fade it in random ways. Extending that notion, he used a process called corrosion to remove color from pieces in graphic patterns—bleach stripes at the neckline of a crisp cotton shirt, a white floral motif on a lilac top. Other times, the actual substance of a material was changed, as in the case of a dévoré blouse and a jacquard flower-print lamé miniskirt.

Maier’s trick was that nothing felt contrived. Industrially washed for a faded effect, his knit sweaters were utterly simple, yet completely divine. And that enviable sense of simplicity extended into his evening dresses. No ball gowns or bustiers here, of course. Maier’s long dresses are modeled after tank tops and T-shirts. The ease is built right in; the drama comes from the way he corroded and then over-dyed them. One featured a bold grid pattern, another an abstract, oversize floral. Perhaps the best part: When they go into production, no two dresses will ever be 100 percent the same. “I like that,” Maier said, “and it’s good for the customer.”
—Nicole Phelps
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London-based menswear designer Martine Rose is on her own trip. That’s what makes her work such a pleasure—the sense that she’s telling a story no one else knows. This season, she delved into her own teenage memories of raving, with a lot of help from the Wild Life Archive, a collection of youth culture errata compiled by Rose’s friend Steve Terry. Using Terry’s old rave fliers as a jumping-off point, Rose conjured the “low” glamour of the original scene—the shiny shirts, the crusty furs, the baggy pants and anoraks—and exaggerated the look as a means of elevating it. The big faux fur—shaved with a beard trimmer, with embedded fliers—has been a surprise hit, according to Rose. But that makes sense, actually. Even Rose’s most fanciful pieces are grounded in a masculine reality that makes them relatable. The same is true of her more challenging silhouettes, like the extra-voluminous denim: They’ll look great in editorial, but the look wouldn’t strike you as absurd if you encountered it in the street. That’s an impressive trick. Martine Rose has been flying under the radar for a while now; here’s hoping this is the collection that gets her the buzz she deserves.
—Maya Singer
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