The news at Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez's Soho studio today? Something that couldn't have been more apropos for a snowy Friday: sweater dressing. "We've never really done a knitwear statement," said Hernandez. "It's just not something we've explored." Consider last Fall's Fair Isles a prequel. Taking their cues from riotously colorful classic Peruvian knits, the duo used ikat and tribal motifs in a robelike sweater coat with fringed pockets and gaucho-esque wide shorts. The result was a highly refined take on the pieces you see worn by college students of the bohemian persuasion. As McCollough deadpanned in reference to a slim striped shirtdress with covered buttons edged in glass: "We have Guatemalan stripes, woven in Switzerland."
The counterpoint to what they called "pajama dressing" came in printed dresses, all crafted with a spiraling bias technique that twenties-era practitioners like Vionnet once employed. Continuing the rebuke to the mini the designers began in Spring, these all fell to mid-calf in a lovely lean and long line. "It's so much chicer," said Hernandez. A few beautiful strong-shouldered coats—like a standout with a zip-off alpaca hem—provided structure to the softly layered hippie-inspired chic. One came in a light-as-air bonded tweed, which will thrill those who couldn't get enough of Spring's candy-colored versions. It, too, was cut on the bias, as were the skinny jersey T-shirts that it transpires will be available in all of the various prints in the collection. Do we foresee a contender to the throne of the tie-dyed tee?
