Victoria Bartlett made a subtle but significant change to her collection for Pre-Fall: The signature "VPL" metal tag attached to each garment is now made of latex. "People can't work out wearing metal," Bartlett reasoned during a preview. There were always bits of the designer's contemporary loungewear that could be worn to the gym, but now it's all workout-ready. This season the idea was to "reinforce the VPL DNA," as Bartlett put it, by doing lots of color and fabric blocking. Stretch-denim insets made you look twice at a pair of running leggings, while a draped sweatshirt and matching sweatpants with accents of hot orange offered the perfect wear-all-Saturday look. Bartlett designed a square-neck halter sports bra for her friends who need extra support, although the silhouette was appealing regardless. And her take on a classic activewear look—a trompe l'oeil marl stretch fabric—was subtler than most, done in soft brown and charcoal. Many activewear fanatics like to wear their pieces long after the sweat evaporates, and Bartlett has made that an easy thing to do.
