August saw the announcement of big news for A.L.C. a long time in the works: a majority investor in the form of new kid on the block InterLuxe (Jason Wu marks their only other fashion interest to date). And still, despite this key development in the label’s business, designer Andrea Lieberman has gone and turned out one of her most intensely personal collections to date. Inspired by a Berber textile she had picked up in her travels and stashed away in a box at her father’s home, she let a certain nomadic romanticism guide her hand for Spring, to an effect that was “soulful and punk at the same time,” as Lieberman dubbed it.
A knack for winning and inventive distillations of the ’70s and ’90s has distinguished A.L.C. for a while now; here that came through in spades, without so much as a trace of the costumey (the most literal retro indulgences were a great studded jacket in whiskey-color suede and crocheted maxi numbers). Instead, Lieberman whipped up fantastic chevron knit gowns and strapless belted maxi dresses.
The prints here also stood out as perhaps the label’s strongest to date: quietly folky-looking pink and chocolate blooms on a black background, inspired by a henna-treated ceremonial veil; the fantastic, simple white tone-on-tone cotton jacquard influenced by a headdress and seen in a matching jacket and A-line skirt; and a muted yet lush-looking take on tie-dye.
In discussing the lineup, Lieberman said she was particularly interested in creating “a sense of restraint” with these clothes. That was here, of course, and the spare elegance of A.L.C. continues to distinguish it from so many of its peers in the contemporary market; but what really spoke most clearly in this collection was a feeling of general, offhanded richness. It was plenty to whet your palate for the big developments in both retail and wholesale on the horizon for the brand.
