“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” it has been said. Emilio de la Morena took that principle to heart this season. And thank goodness: De la Morena’s dressmaking talents shine brightest when he pares his looks down to their essences, yet he frequently evinces an aversion to doing that, as though afraid his designs won’t seem distinctive unless he overcomplicates them. Not so here. This was a collection with a straightforward mandate—pretty dresses—and its flourishes were relatively few. Which made for some knockout frocks to wear to a cocktail do.
The designer presented a fabric-focused lineup. De la Morena has great taste when it comes to textiles, and the materials he used served to elevate his most matter-of-fact looks. The cream-color jacquard, for instance, introduced an earthy note to a soigné pencil dress, courtesy of the pebbled texture. Tonal striped black gazar was not only sexy, given its semi-transparency, but it also allowed de la Morena to play with his signature geometric effects without detracting from the collection’s understated mood. Elsewhere, plain pink or yellow silk had a perfect, limpid drape—one of those qualities in clothes that looks no-brainer but is actually devilishly hard to achieve.
The most striking pieces, meanwhile, were the pastel frocks and dressy separates embroidered with patches in metallic brocade. The patches were in the shape of “mountain flowers,” de la Morena said; the pattern they made was redolent of leopard print, which wasn’t a bad thing. There was also a very cool green-toned organza brocade with metallic fabric filaments left exposed. The effect was a touch uncanny, in a good way, and here in particular de la Morena’s strategy of hewing to classic A-line silhouettes allowed the specialness of his material to speak for itself.
This collection wasn’t simple in the sense that it was minimal or basic. It was simple in that it wasn’t cluttered by a bunch of superfluous ideas. There were just a couple of superfluities; but then, simplicity is a discipline. It’s a muscle. This season, de la Morena began again to work it out.
