Having thoroughly explored the Jungle (Jap) floor in previous collections, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon turned their gaze to the sky. Their Fall men's collection, fresh off the runway at Florence's Pitti Uomo, brought blue sky and clouds into their collection; their women's pre-fall outing kept it there.
This time around, the designers toyed with volume to mixed effect. Their double-faced neoprene cocoon coats and A-line skirts telegraphed capital-F Fashion but had an unfortunate tendency to swallow their wearers. The confections of tiered ruffles, riffing on the ruffle motif of Kenzo Takada's seventies collections, had a similar effect. But their masterstroke for this collection was to introduce a category that should obliterate any other: denim. Kenzo's kicky, affordable new look was tailor-made for jeans. Now they've arrived, cut tight and printed with abstract florals, night-sky scenes, and a busy animal print called Tessellated Tiger. If it prowls like a hit, and it roars like a hit…
