The appointment to view Samuel Drira’s new collection for Nehera took place at precisely the same time that people began gathering for the Women’s March in Paris. This reviewer was feeling a major case of female duty FOMO. But given the need to soldier on, spending time with Drira felt as acknowledging of women as the situation allowed. With no exaggeration, the designer’s sensitivity toward how clothes engage with and position the woman wearing them is among the most admirable in the biz. This doesn’t always translate in photos, partly because the nuanced tailoring—a barely detectable military influence for Pre-Fall—gets flattened in pictures. Also, his rear views are usually as elemental as fronts and, needless to say, those aren’t visible here. The striking white column dress, for example, features a row of metal press buttons behind each shoulder. Unsnap either or both to expose the cross-back straps that extend like bridge cables across the back. Incidentally, Tilda Swinton was indirectly involved in this and the other dressier creations; she had worn Nehera earlier in the year, prompting Drira to consider how he would wardrobe her for evening.
While his total looks might seem limited to those, like Swinton, who lean toward a certain contemplative design, anyone would appreciate the usefulness of a bib-like knit “warmer,” especially since it doubles as a scarf. “Sometimes I have a tendency to give looks more than one option, but this collection was about gesture,” he explained, referring to the roundness of his well-constructed trench, or the movement inherent in a raw cotton suit composed of a side-clasp top and relaxed volume pant. And if the funnel neck of an inky blue lambskin blouson and the outward lean of his boots would be noticed from afar, the intimacy of an up-close detail seems to give him equal pleasure. Notice how the wrists—to some, the most sensuous and underrated part of a woman’s body—appear framed by the sleeves of the khaki green sweater.
