When there are two designers who run a label—let alone two siblings—you can’t help but wonder how often they clash behind the scenes. For Beaufille’s Parris Gordon and Chloé Gordon, sisterly disagreements are inevitable, but their unique, lifelong bond also makes them ideal collaborators. Chloé, whose background is in textiles, knows which knits or tech fabrics will work best with Parris’s hardware and jewelry (Parris studied metalsmithing), and vice versa. From there, the collection sort of unfolds organically, and Spring was particularly harmonious.
“In the past, we would think of really specific inspirations and start there, but now we kind of work backward,” Parris explained. “We’re working more intuitively.” Of Spring ’16’s sharp lines, silver ring cutouts, and high-tech materials, she said, “We immediately thought it looked retro-futuristic—there’s a Star Wars–in-the-’70s quality.” That mood came through best in a mid-length ivory slip dress with D-rings and trailing ribbons at the shoulders. Slips are a huge trend for Spring, but they’ve been a Beaufille best-seller for a few seasons now. Elsewhere, the ring details became more prominent, creating pockets of air on a sleeveless jacket or dotting the curved edge of a dress. Cropped flares with chunky zippers also stood out; both the rust suede and black jersey varieties would give your favorite jeans a run for their money. In addition to that minimal, sculptural theme, there was an emphasis on more artisanal details, like a one-shoulder top that looked like it was made of tangled threads. Chloé handmade it by throwing bundles of yarn into water-soluble bags, pinning the strings together, and embroidering them over and over for hours at a time. Then she dunked the mass in a bathtub and watched the bags dissolve, so all that was left was the manipulated fabric. Consider it a modern take on lace or crochet—with just a touch of high tech.
