Australia’s Kym Ellery has always had an affection for a high-drama silhouette. With her new collection, she proved that she has developed a knack for distilling the drama down to a telling gesture or two. The telling gesture was what made for the magic in the work of Bob Fosse. The choreographer behind such seminal shows such as Chicago and Cabaret, Fosse served as Ellery’s seasonal muse.
The louche atmospherics of both of those productions was more suggested than spelled out here; the leopard-print goatskin and tonal jacquard gave a hint. Elsewhere, Ellery nodded at their costuming via her use of Lurex and fishnet, as well as in the collection’s running theme of coal-black looks punctuated by graphic buttons or hardware. More generally, she paid homage to dancers, cutting her clothes closer to the body than usual and making a motif of fluidity. Sometimes that was found in a soft silk midi dress in black or a pussy-bow blouse with a draped front; sometimes the fluidity was incorporated in unexpected ways into pieces of mannish tailoring, such as the suedelike cupro trench with a detachable peplum. Nowhere was the sense of jazzy movement more palpable, though, than in Ellery’s latest iteration of her signature flares: This time out, they came cropped and taut as tights and with a shimmying, circular-cut bell.
If the showiest looks were the ones like the pouf-sleeve blouse that amped up the volume on the silhouette to 11, the touch of brilliance was to be found in one of the collection’s inspired details. On several pieces, ranging from a seemingly simple blue button-down to a blouse with sleeves in Lurex fishnet, Ellery had threaded ribbon through the arm in tribute to all those dancer-y things that tie and cinch. The ribbon could be tightened up to adapt the shape of the sleeves, and the effect, especially in the fishnet, was both original and appealing. A small gesture, to be sure, but as Bob Fosse well knew, it’s the right little one that counts.
