A glade of slender trees projected behind the runway marked two of Brian Reyes' creative stimuli this season. The first were the trees themselves. Following visits to Kew Gardens in London and the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., Reyes designed this collection in an arboreal mood. The second was the Ukrainian artist Oksana Mas, who created the shadow backdrop and collaborated on several of the season's prints. In considering the trees, Reyes did the obvious (a lean, leggy silhouette) and the less obvious: the working garb of professional tree climbers and trimmers. The top of a gray silk dress was meant to resemble a harness—it looked like you could attach a carabiner to it and float away. A fabric with a parachute-y sheen contributed to the activewear element, too.
Mainly, though, the mood was soft and ethereally pretty, rather than sporty. The dresses and jackets were cleverly tailored, with curved seams like the concentric rings of trees. One of Mas' abstract prints looked great on a sleek little dress worn with a fox scarf with built-in pockets. Also of note were the sophisticated knits. An oversize bouclé jacket atop a matching pencil skirt was nubbly and chic. A puce knit T-shirt shot through with Lurex would make an excellent new wardrobe staple. Wear it with the teeny silk shorts shown underneath, and your boyfriend may never let you leave the house.
