All throughout the week, the owners from Bird, Odin, Den, and Pas de Deux will be telling us what they liked at the collections. Today’s installment is by Bird’s Jen Mankins. So far, she thinks this is Zero + Maria Cornejo’s strongest collection to date. She loved the impeccable detailing at Phillip Lim, and was a fan of Thakoon’s bright dresses. See more of Jen’s picks after the jump.
Zero + Maria Cornejo
I simply love this collection. It is all the things I look for in fashion: strong, smart, inspired, beautiful, elegant, modern, and timeless. Maria finds harmony and clarity in the juxtaposition of textures (hard and soft), colors (dark and vivid), and shapes (structured and draped). The collection felt very personal (photos of her cat and from her iPhone were both abstracted into prints) and seemed at once familiar and new. Perfect coats, cocoon knits, and envy-inciting dresses are always her strength, and this season was no exception. I loved the intense midnight-blue mohair blanket jackets, crackled-leather waistcoats, and foliage-print silk dresses. And the slim-fitting shearlings will surely be on everyone’s winter wish list. This also marked her strongest collection of shoes to date, with great cutout block-heel ankle boots and high boots made of the softest glove leather and pony hair.
Watch a slideshow of the Zero + Maria Cornejo collection.
Thakoon
This season, Thakoon Panichgul offered up a gorgeous, covetable collection of colorful dresses and bold outerwear. Primary colors, including canary yellow, tomato red, and cobalt blue, popped along with his signature whimsical prints (including cascading ruffles and confetti paper), but black was far from basic. Bonded velvet, tech twill, and sequin tulle gave the dark looks luxurious texture and depth. Two of my favorite looks were the black wool short-sleeve sculpted dress and the navy evening silk falling-ruffle dress, which will be flattering on everyone. I also loved the bright-indigo wool slashed-ruffle shift dress with sheer chiffon panels. This peek-a-boo detail is really gaining ground for fall. And I won’t be able to resist the black-and-ivory tiger-stripe mohair zip-front jacket.
Watch a slideshow of the Thakoon collection.
Bodkin
In her debut presentation, fresh on the heels of winning Ecco Domani’s inaugural sustainability award for best new designer, former fashion writer Eviana Hartman showcased a strong, casual-cool, ecofriendly collection. The collection consisted of everyday layering pieces like catsuits and leggings, as well as cozy tunics and dresses, all made of the most remarkable fabrics, including recycled-bottle quilting and hand-loomed nonviolent silk blessed by the Dalai Lama. Even the buttons on jackets are made from recycled Philadelphia-rubber tires. The standouts were the hand-dyed jersey pieces made with combinations of eggplant, berries, grapes, flowers, roots, and leaves, producing shockingly beautiful, vibrant blues and violets. Perfect on so many levels, it’s hard to figure out what I like most about the collection!
3.1 Phillip Lim
There have been hints of sixties mod-rock around town this week (I have never seen more turtlenecks and cropped pants), but Phillip Lim has mined the decade better than anyone to create an exuberant collection of lean suits, Biba-esque printed-silk dresses, and amazing outerwear. Quoting Bryan Ferry in his show notes, and featuring live music by the swaggering singer Lissy Trullie, the show was a romp through the best of sixties and seventies fashion, with enough modern detailing and styling to make the looks fresh and not too literal. Ruffled dresses and blouses were layered under sharp-peak-shouldered jackets, wing-sleeved cloaks and oversize cocoon cover-ups, and pitch-perfect breakaway coats in everything from ivory wool to slate suede shearling. The impeccable detailing always makes the difference at Phillip Lim: gorgeous embroidery, grosgrain edging, patchwork and crochet, Art Deco beading, sequins, paillettes, and plenty of feathers and fur. Choose between the lace-up, elbow-length gauntlet gloves or the leather-and-lace driving gloves to complete every outfit once the temperatures drop.
