Chris Benz does Resort for the true resorters—but not at the tropical destination many of his contemporaries are envisioning. "Miami is the path of least resistance," he said at his showroom yesterday. "Bermuda is overlooked."
Bermuda it was, then—paradise of vacationing English royalty in the nineteenth century. And, actually, that suits the Benz aesthetic of fusty-meets-fancy quite nicely. Old and new were mashed together with exuberant abandon in this collection, which adapted several Benz standards (like tweed suiting, shown with—what else?—ribbon-belted bermuda shorts) and introduced new categories, such as swim. Prints met prints (abstract leopard spot, nautical stripes, oversize flowers) on silky blouses and baby-doll dresses. Benz isn't the only designer thinking of mixing prints and color blocking, but this offering was especially and intentionally collection-as-collision-course. Maybe that explains the raw edges throughout and the need for comfortable shoes (splatter- and floral-printed sneakers by Benz's usual collaborator, Alejandro Ingelmo, the first women's sneaker the accessory designer has done). If vacation isn't time to let your hair down, when is?
