Bouchra Jarrar is in growth mode, with new sales agents in Japan and the Middle East, and plans to bring her Spring 2015 offering to New York for a week in October. Alongside those developments, there was a fresh spirit to the collection she showed at her atelier today. Jarrar comes from haute couture—her métier is tailleur rather than flou—and her ready-to-wear has inherited her couture line's flair and polish. Today's English gabardine trench with its peaked storm flap, and the wool version of July's peplumed leather moto jacket both made that point distinctly. What was really notable, however, was the collection's casual new energy. Not only in terms of color (a bold pink several shades away from girly) and silhouette (trapeze dresses with a generous frill of pleats below the drop waist) but also in terms of fabric. Believe it or not, Jarrar has never used cotton. The humble material suits her current mood, and so there was a great-looking pair of cropped khaki chinos, which she teamed with another first for her, a simple boy's button-down (also cotton), and a shrunken blazer in exuberant blue-and-pink jacquard.
Slow and steady has always been the Bouchra Jarrar way, and it's paid off. More and more you spot chic, understated types wearing her designs during fashion week. Up until now she was less concerned about her clients' off days. Here's what they're going to want to wear on the first sunny Saturday next Spring: marine blue cargo-pocket flares and a vareuse (like a polo shirt without the buttons) in the leopard print from Jarrar's latest couture runway.
