Doo-Ri Chung made a name for herself with her drapey, fluid jersey dresses, but she's not afraid to spread her wings. Last season, she explored other evening materials, like satin and charmeuse, and now for fall, she's experimenting with such menswear staples as wool melton, houndstooth, and plaid. The task she set herself here was the difficult one of reimagining the suit, replacing the jacket's sharp lines with soft ones, cutting bell sleeves, and tenting the back. It could have looked old-fashioned; instead, it came off as refreshingly modern, a welcome sight at a time when a number of Chung's peers seem stuck in the past (pick your decade).
For evening, she mostly avoided structure and instead pushed her draping skills to new heights, embellishing dresses with crafty touches like crochet, macramé, and rosettes. One wool number tented from the neckline to the floor with only metal paillettes at the waist interrupting its long, flowing lines. Another, in champagne silk twill, was overlaid with weightless net that was attached below the bust with a cluster of crystals. These are not gowns destined for the dance floor—they're far too precious—but rather for grand, sweeping entrances and exits, and only then if your date is a gent and agrees to mind your train.
