Alexander Wang’s 10th anniversary show in September really resonated, with clothes that looked like better versions of items we’re all familiar with from the streets of New York City. His terrific Pre-Fall collection picks up where that one left off. “There’s no big concept,” he said, paraphrasing something he said backstage last season. “This is how I see people dress around me.”
While it was styled to the hilt, with striped stockings, studded platform sandals, metal badge pins, and the odd pair of grommeted leather gauntlets, the layered, mix-and-match look of the collection had an authenticity that made many of the other ones we’ve seen this week look precious. As usual, outerwear was a strong point, from the cheetah-print kangaroo-hair Crombie that opened the mini-presentation to the oversize cheetah-embroidered bomber that closed it. He did some hybridizing of other pieces, splicing a parka and a flight jacket together and adding a removable blouson back to a roomy trench. The satin souvenir jacket popular on the runways lately got a California-palm-tree’d tweak.
Wang has a handle on turning basics into special, desirable pieces. Take an argyle sweater with a cellophane window that exposed a slice of bra strap. (The merits of another argyle sweater with intarsias of pole dancers was more debatable, though it’s sure to be a hit.) He said he enjoyed working on the collection's evening pieces, explaining that his stint across the pond at Balenciaga taught him a lot about the category. What was great about a narrow black column gown with grommet detailing along the neckline was how it retained that un-precious attitude he does so well.
