Creatures of Comfort impresario Jade Lai has made impressive strides since she launched her store's namesake brand in 2010. Initially, the Creatures of Comfort label comprised ultra-basic jersey pieces plus a smattering of long skirts, appealingly awkward jumpsuits, and buttoned-up button-downs that hit the nail on the head of the then emergent mumsy hipster aesthetic. (Think Alexa Chung.) This collection, Lai's sixth, proves that Creatures of Comfort has grown up and grown out: Though she still has her finger on the Bedford Avenue/Shoreditch High Street pulse, Lai has broadened her clothes' appeal. To wit, the tailored shorts and trousers in a luxe silk wool blend were accessibly sophisticated; the pieces in white, in particular, looked really chic.
Elsewhere, she's added a flirtatious note, with schoolgirl minis, fitted knits, and peekaboo dévoré velvet polka dots. (The dots were a theme; the collection included a variety.) There was still a sense here that Lai remains overfond of the purposefully awkward silhouette—some of her dresses were a touch shapeless—but she's gotten better at adding the grace notes that give a covered-up look verve. On a simple shirtdress, for instance, the dropped waist counted for a lot; likewise the waterfall effect on a dotted mid-calf skirt. Here's hoping that Lai doesn't outgrow her awkwardness entirely—it's idiomatic to the Creatures of Comfort brand and the reason the most straightforward pieces in this collection still stood out. But it's nice to see her giving her ugly ducklings permission to be swans.
