Happy days for a designer, when the winds of fashion blow her way. Alice Temperley is presently in the crosscurrents of two trends that suit the predisposition of her line. First, there's the emergence of Kate and Pippa Middleton as fashion icons, putting a stamp of royal approval on soothing and straightforward style. Second, this Resort season is looking rather romantic, with an emphasis on flattering, twenties-inspired bias cuts and fluttering sleeves and hemlines. That's a tone and a look that Temperley does well.
Botticelli was the stated inspiration this time around, and the designer did a fine job of fitting the painter's signatures into her own, to wit, the shell-patterned intarsia knits, hand embroidery on a dress in "Primavera," and the soft tempera palette. The diaphanous pieces felt very on-trend, in particular the white and blush silk drop-waist dresses. Elsewhere, structured cocktail numbers and neat, tailored trousers and jackets spoke to that Kate-and-Pippa girl who's less concerned about looking "now" than she is about looking right. Temperley knows her customer, and this collection will make that customer very happy.
