Brian Atwood is out at Bally and Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz are in. The designers, who were last at the British heritage label Aquascutum, moved quickly to sharpen this Swiss brand's edges. They went back into the archives to find the square heel shape they used for wood- and metal-soled shoes, and their bags have a geometric precision that's very much in keeping with the Celine-led trend for boxy, clean shapes without much in the way of hardware.
The clothing, likewise, had a spare sensibility—precise but still sensual. Streamlined outerwear married natural linen canvas to bonded leather in black or caramel, which was also used for sleek apron-style, to-the-floor evening dresses. The duo's take on the designer sweatshirt, shown in off-white and color-blocked shades of red, yellow, and green, was slightly shrunken, almost waxy. Color also came through in easy, bare cotton day dresses with a tie-dye-style print. This was a small, tightly edited ready-to-wear collection destined only for the company's shops, but it had an of-the-moment sportif minimalism that could make Bally stores busier places next spring.
