"I'm a little obsessed with sand and sea," Julie Chaiken told Style.com. "And that carried forward to a Mediterranean feeling."
Though little-publicized, some behind-the-scenes changes have taken place at the company: The creative director, Jeff Mahshie, has left, and Julie took her bow solo this time. But Chaiken fans need not worry. While there wasn't much depth to the collection, it had plenty of charm.
The show got off on the right foot with a very simple, stark-white suit, designed for life under a blazing sun. Safari looks followed (belted jackets, rolled sleeves), and narrow silhouettes (straight skirts, tidy shifts) alternated with slithery draped dresses with names like Atlantis. Chaiken, based in San Francisco, enlivened her black-and-white palette with hits of pool blue and a bouncy wave print. "The collection is a little bit younger and a little lighter, meaning less serious," she said. "Being from the West Coast, I have to think of it as being for an American woman, rather than just a New Yorker."
