Leather and lace are old pals. But leather that's lace? There's a naughty new friend. It figured prominently in Chloë Sevigny's latest collection for Opening Ceremony, which she showed for the first time ever in a runway presentation that attracted pals Ryan McGinley and Proenza Schouler's Jack and Lazaro, plus many dozens more in the standing section. "Teen dream," she said of the spectacle after the show. No, make that "sexy teen dream."
Some dream of angels; some dream of devils. Sevigny provided both. Her flouncy minidresses were mostly variations on the white cotton eyelet frocks that pure-of-heart maidens might wear. Some were in white cotton; some in black leather. "It's the good and the bad, the light and the dark," Sevigny explained. "If you want to wear this in white, you can have your angelic moment. And if you want to go dark…" She herself was wearing the black leather, which perhaps suggests where she falls on that particular ecclesiastical divide. (That she showed it in the gym of a parish youth center, well—bless!)
The leather dresses—and skirts, incorporating corseting details—had an eighties-style bite, saved from retro-ism by oversize bibs of laser-cut leather lace, and more lace still snaking over shoulders and around arms. Skin (or sin?) is in—and she doesn't shy away from it. But will every girl look as good in black leather bloomer shorts as she does?
Maybe not. But Sevigny, to her credit, offers a wider wardrobe than first glance would indicate. Those frocks will get the attention, but there were sweats and varsity jackets, too, made in collaboration with the eighties skate brand Vision Street Wear. (They were an homage of sorts to her brother, Paul, and his days as a Vision-clad skater.) The shoes: platform sneaks, pearl-studded flats, strappy heels. And approachable denim came in several forms, from a mini romper with leather insets to skintight, paneled jeans. It all gelled for a complete picture of the world according to Chloë. Between heaven and hell, after all, there's her stomping ground and inspiration well: the street.
