“We are all broken. That’s how the light gets in.” It’s a line often attributed, in the vast, factually dubious expanse of the Internet, to Ernest Hemingway, though in all likelihood it’s a bastardized version of a lyric by Leonard Cohen (with the bastardization seemingly inspired by Hemingway). Regardless of the specifics, it’s a beautiful sentiment, and it was the inspiration this season for Halston Heritage designer Marie Mazelis. With the idea of shattered glass and the beautiful possibilities of putting things back together again (Berlin art collective Tape That made a cameo on her mood board, too), Mazelis set about tapping into ideas of spare deconstruction, also looking to artist George Wyllie’s 78-foot paper boat. That storied public artwork lent garments their almost sculptural, origami folds. There were asymmetrical skirts; low-slung, blousey jumpsuits; and generally a longer, more languid silhouette than is typical for Halston Heritage.
Mazelis spoke, too, about the idea of “touches of light,” which came to life in softly shimmering button-downs, or where the designer traded in the often heavy-looking metal hardware of seasons gone by in favor of delicate chain piping. Indeed, while red carpet cachet continues to be the main source of buzz around HH, here Mazelis and her team set about rounding out the daytime offerings, proposing pieces like a snowy shirt dress and a featherweight cashmere turtleneck that came with subtly sexy racerback cutouts. But surely some of those touches of light will be courtesy of popping flashbulbs: perhaps more than ever before. Here, Mazelis struck upon a bit of the glamour that was Roy Halston Frowick’s signature, with her goat hair–trimmed toppers and gleaming, one-shouldered Lurex party frocks.
