Two seasons in, and the Reed Krakoff signatures are starting to take shape. Like Fall, his Spring collection had a minimalist bent; Stella Tennant, a favorite model of the nineties less-is-more school and the star of the designer's first ad campaign, opened and closed the show. But whereas Krakoff's earlier collection had a warm sensibility, this one was "luxe punk." That's how he phrased it backstage, explaining that he wanted to take rich materials and treat them in unexpected, even subversive ways. Silk was lacquered to a liquid sheen, for instance, while leather was fused to see-through chiffon.
Krakoff is still interested in tailoring—cue pantsuits accessorized with utilitarian apron belts and workwear staples like camp shirts and painter's pants (interesting callbacks to Alexander Wang's show earlier this week)—but this season those elements shared the runway with more traditionally Asian silhouettes. Shirts, vests, and dresses wrapped around the torso like kimonos, leaving plenty of flesh exposed—sometimes too much, it seemed, for the models' comfort.
Among the show's strongest pieces were the two closing looks: chiffon jersey apron dresses with leather straps that you could picture on front-row guest Julianne Moore. They had the kind of unforced chic that will earn Krakoff new fans, celebrity and otherwise.
