As relayed by a member of Jenny Packham’s team, the designer arrived at her Pre-Fall collection by adapting certain elements from Ang Lee’s celebrated film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to her 21st-century princess style. Thankfully, the outcome wasn’t first-degree East-meets-West, or even explicitly Chinese-inflected. And irrespective of the starting point, the impression remained unchanged: Packham’s pursuit of relevance within a rather rarefied niche. A dress covered in a staggered pattern of metallic sequins was the strongest proof that she’s exploring her commercial extremes. But even some of the dresses suggested a confident equilibrium between embellishment and restraint; for starters, the first look with its bloused top and uniform shimmer. The finery on several dresses in satin-backed crepe (the satin side facing out) was limited to the shoulders and back, while a black shirtdress with glittery gunmetal striping was cool by way of its relative understatement. Without question, every creation within this tight offering could be described as pretty, particularly the grouping in which intricately embroidered pansies and Swarovski-bejeweled insects emerge from delicate tulle. The question Packham leaves unanswered is whether she’s evolving alongside shifting tastes. And as a leader in the category of special-occasion fashion, she has an opportunity to direct those shifting tastes herself.
