Andrew Gn launched his new handbag collection on the runway today. Luxuriously made with box calf leather (the kind used by Hermès back in the day, he said) and semiprecious stones like amethyst and tiger's eye, the bags had a clean, graphic look that complemented the clothes, which were inspired by the Wiener Werkstätte and England's Arts and Crafts movement.
It's a time period Gn has referenced before, but, as he said backstage, "I'm older; I see it differently now." Today, more so than before, his cuts and silhouettes were restrained. The brightly hued silk blouses and A-line miniskirts, and occasional black and white shift dresses, made simple canvases for rich surface treatments like velvet embroideries in patterns lifted from the artist Koloman Moser, or quilting techniques in motifs borrowed from Josef Hoffmann. Like other designers this season, Gn lavished extra attention on coats—lavish being the operative word in the cases of a black cashmere cocoon with scrolling leather appliqué, and another in Prince of Wales check with patent and chenille passementerie trimming its edges. That one got special attention from the buyers in the room. Gn's show went on too long, and he could have said more with less, but there are no other complaints here.
