Hear the word India, and the mind can’t help but conjure images of hot pink saris, thread embroidery, golden jewelry. That’s just one kind of India, though, and this season Angela Missoni took inspiration from another: The remote Ladakh region, nestled between the Kunlun mountain range and the Himalayas, and inhabited by people of Tibetan descent. The Ladakh communities have their own distinctive aesthetic, which Missoni drew on for her appealing new collection.
Outerwear accounted for more than a few of the standout pieces here: There were cocoonish coats of knit wool or mink-trimmed shearling, all of them emblazoned with multicolor stripes. Elsewhere, Missoni translated the Ladakh taste for fringe into frothy looks like skirts with knit-in, flag-like pleating, and tops and dresses with colorful, ornate fringe embellishment. As with any Missoni collection, however, the references played second fiddle to the overarching Missoni-ness of the clothes, demonstrated via the usual generous deployment of the house’s signature flame stitch and mottled knit. A checkerboard motif made for a natural expansion of the Missoni knit vocabulary; ditto the micro-ruffles that lined minidresses and gowns of cobweb fineness. But the best thing about this collection was its palette: Sand tones and black served as a canvas for splashes of color in just about every cheerful hue. Once 2016’s cold weather arrives, the Missoni coats in particular will add a dollop of pop to virtually any wardrobe.
