The road from new kid on the block to upstanding member of the establishment can be a bumpy one, negotiating creative instincts with commercial necessities. Four years in, Creatures of the Wind's Shane Gabier and Christopher Peters have made it to the other side with much if not all of the whimsy that made their first collections so winning intact. Their point of departure for Resort was a Pace Gallery show of Picasso's portraits of Jacqueline Roque. Picasso's Cubist style rubbed off on the collection's best, most playful pieces: skirts with crushed fabric flowers suspended in tulle net and a halter dress pieced together like a two-dimensional sculpture. A flower print lifted from an early 20th-century wallpaper design was just this side of eccentric. It was too full-on for a two-piece pantsuit, but it looked charming on a super-cropped moto jacket and a flared miniskirt. Elsewhere, a duster coat worn over an ankle-grazing gown paired with flat sandals landed in their sweet spot. Gabier and Peters took their first stab at denim here, a move that was motivated by practicality as much as anything. Jeans come in at the lower end of the COTW price range. The trick going forward will be imbuing the humble, hardworking fabric with some of their early wit and humor.
