This is the second runway season that Cacharel has been rudderless—that is, without any official voice attached to the design. It has been sailing along in lukewarm waters, inspiring neither high praise nor strong objection. For Fall, nothing changed in any public way, yet there appeared to be an improved focus to the collection. Much of this can be attributed to prioritizing silhouettes over pretty prints. Egg shapes had been modified so that they remained classic from the front, but the back resembled Watteau pleating. Wool crepe dresses with dropped waists presented a more mature alternative to the baby doll. Culottes—short or long—seemed less tricky thanks to inverted pleats. Prints of falling leaves and dandelion poufs were rendered with enough color variation and digital manipulation so as to avoid cliché. The Cacharel fur offering was expanded to include soft rabbit shrug vests, shaded cropped fox-fur gilets, and two laser-cut jackets in kangaroo. And there were more options for evening, most notably a "cosmic"-print sheath and a flounced dress that swooped ever so slightly longer in the back. The brand pretty much has all the bases covered—including fine-gauge knitwear resembling lace and loden overcoats in attractive jewel tones. What it needs now is that elusive gust of wind known as buzz.
