With the Ingmar Bergman film Fanny and Alexander and a summer at Fire Island as his chief inspirations, Peter Som crafted a spring collection that had both Victorian and nautical motifs. What seem like disparate themes came together to form "a crisp, clean, light feeling, but romantic too," said Som backstage. And he was right. First out was a linen dress with crewel work gracing its high neck and above-the-knee hem. That silhouette reappeared elsewhere in the show, but it worked especially well in delicate white Chantilly lace, thanks to a black slip that gave it a welcome edge.
His sailor-girl jackets, culottes, and pleated skirts in twill, silk broadcloth, and seersucker were sweet through and through. Seafarer or landlubber, his clients will want to add long navy cashmere voile cardigans and vests to their wardrobes. One wide-leg sailor pant bordered on clownish, and his blue and gold brocades looked a bit too mature for the social set that lined his front row, but those were minor missteps. After a series of linen evening gowns dusted with crystals or painted with flowers in a manner that Som described as "neither overwrought nor precious," they were easy to forgive.
