"Dressing up in a romantic, traditional way," was Phoebe Philo's précis for pre-fall. Romantic, we understand. Traditional? Somewhat less so. Much was made of the way Philo broke free from the codes she'd established at Céline on her Spring runway. The look was loose, louche, even. Here, she continued to push herself, most often in terms of cut and fit. The presentation opened with a few classically tailored pantsuits and coats, given a charming update with large pearl buttons. But just as often, she was supersizing jackets and hacking off the sleeves below the elbow, or cutting seriously droopy pants that pooled above enormous wedges. Brass belt buckles covered a good portion of models' torsos on everything from a leather smock dress to a goat-hair coat, and a teddy-bear jacket on the racks reached monster proportions. These are pieces that will appeal to the most forward-thinking of shoppers.
But it wasn't all envelope-pushing. The peplum, which Philo is in large part responsible for popularizing, was reincarnated on a leather top and on a tweed blazer, and there's no better word for her three-quarter-length pleated leather skirts than sweet. Come to think of it, there's tradition to be found, too, in a Fair Isle sweater. Hers comes in a heavy-gauge wool, and it will doubtless inspire a rush of imitations on the runways next month.
