Phillip Lim talked about systems in his show notes and their necessity to structure. Seeing how solid a brand he has built I’d listen closely to whatever Lim has to say. One interpretation of his show notes is a desire to attempt to break down and reassemble the codes of what’s ‘conventionally’ regarded as ‘pretty’. Lim said he wanted to ‘kick it all around a bit. It’s fun to self-reflect…’ Self-reflection that should ultimately lead to reinvention and yet, as full of fantastic staples for a modern girl’s wardrobe as this collection was I can’t see how and what it reinvented, both for the designer in particular and fashion in general. No matter – kicking it around a bit in Lim’s clothes sounds just fine to me!
Asymmetric hemlines prevailed, slashing across a black apron skirt or another with parachute straps hanging loose. Straps were everywhere, mostly undone in a more literal interpretation of Lim’s notes. There was also a lot of plaid (a recurring theme in these New York collections), like a great blanket of a brushed flannel wrap coat that seemed particularly alluring on yet another frosty New York day and a flannel dress, its shirt buttoned up, its skirt wrapped with a D-ring. Lim can patch together contrasting textures and end up with something unfussy and easy to throw on like few others can. A white dress had both a red and black check panel and a shiny black flight pocket, for example. One of the strongest looks had a fluffy grey knit tucked into a burgundy leather wrap skirt, lace up ankle boots and a seriously cool crossbody bag. You could imagine catching a girl wearing that on the streets of the city or another in the tank top and black flight trousers and strappy mule heels. Or how about the white destroyed lace bomber over a tiger print button-down shirt and roomy olive wool trousers? The finale silk green gown may have seemed pretty at first but when the model turned out she revealed a series of ties holding it all together along one side. Pretty yes, but full of surprises.
