Joseph's grunge-inspired Resort collection came out of pretty much nowhere to become a blockbuster for the brand: Those checks and diaphanous florals have been in stores for a while now, and the demand for them shows no signs of abating. The Joseph collection for Fall seems to have been designed using the same formula that made Resort such a winner: In place of the grunge toughness, there were biker leathers and a military inflection; rather than the feminizing florals, there were ruffles and lace. And as always with Joseph, the collection was studded with top-notch knits and the kind of coats and jackets you wear to the point of disintegration.
One of the fresh ideas that designer Louise Trotter introduced this season was sweater dressing: The collection was full of ribbed tops, dresses, and skirts that were made to be layered. Another new element was ponyskin, which looked particularly good in a muted leopard print used in coats, pencil skirts, and bags. Elsewhere, Trotter traded in the punchy, Joseph-signature intarsia handknits for Peruvian-inspired ponchos and fringed sweaters with a more muted charm. All in all, this was a collection well stocked with knockout pieces—curly coats and camo fur, zigzagged angora-blend turtlenecks, ruffled dresses, and track pants in a soft gray lace-printed silk—that were delivered with the typical Joseph understatement. But this time, when the collection starts flying out of stores, no one is going to be surprised.
