With Tom Ford (and CEO Domenico De Sole) now out the door at Gucci Group, these must be unsettled times for the other designers whose houses are owned by the company. This might account for the lack of focus that came across in Stella McCartney's collection. Generally pretty tuned in to what her girl wants to wear—and, just as importantly, how she wants to look in it—McCartney was a bit wobbly here. Some of her excursions into volume looked a little troublesome: Anyone for a huge satin and nylon quilted coat that looks like you just swiped the duvet off the bed and went out the door? Thought not.
But there were moments that worked. McCartney was on much-surer ground when she took her silhouette closer to the body and let the swing of the godets on a slipper-satin skirt or a jersey dress introduce a touch of fluidity and fullness without ever overwhelming the body. She also had some success when her street-savvy tailoring didn¿t stray into the realms of the supersized, such as with a close-fit houndstooth jacket in pale caramel and pink tones, worn with khaki pants tucked into faux-leather seventies-style boots.
There was the return of the chunky Peruvian sweaters that McCartney must have remembered from her childhood (worn, no doubt, by mom Linda), now looking like a neat update on Fair Isle knits. And there were some good accessories, always a challenge for someone dedicated to never using fur or leather. The standout: a canvas sneaker resting on a high rubber heel.
