Jason Wu has been at Boss for two years; February’s runway show will be his fifth for the label. The work he’s done at the German company up until now has been appealing; there aren’t enough brands doing fresh, modern suiting. We’d even go so far as to say that Boss’s austere aesthetic has influenced his collections for his own label, which have grown up a lot lately and lost much of the frills and other extras of his early shows.
This new Pre-Fall collection for Boss, however, came off perhaps a bit too austere. You can’t fault the clothes’ construction, which was pitch perfect, as usual, but they didn’t stoke much desire. Even wear-to-work suits and shifts have to tug at something inside for a woman to grab them off the rack and lug them to the dressing room. No doubt he’ll inject more personality into his upcoming runway collection for Fall. Until then, the most compelling pieces here were a pair of dresses with sleeves gathered above the elbow with metal D rings. Layered over thin knit turtlenecks, they had a relaxed, relatable feel that women look for.
