If a collection could be compared to a passport, then Andrew Gn’s Resort offering would be filled with stamps representing his global medley of source material. He drew from India, Eastern Europe, Central America, and beyond, pointing to the vibrant, reinterpreted patterns as a contemporary patchwork of traditional references. For Gn, this maximalist approach is also a point of pride, since it allows him to push the workmanship. A layer of sequins glazed a miniskirt printed with a psychedelic Mayan motif, while black tweed benefited from both passementerie and embroidery to evoke floral vines on a trellis. A sketched bird whose design could be traced back to Comte de Buffon, an 18th-century French naturalist, appeared as if repainted by the Fauves. On one of several extroverted gowns, a beaded paisley bodice met a crinoline skirt in tapestry-inspired, multicolored fil coupe.
Such indiscriminate mixing might ordinarily have the makings of a culture clash, but Gn maintained his characteristic elegance by not overworking his shapes. A slightly puffed shoulder on a classic jacket, zippered slits, and asymmetrical sleeves on some of the pieces that made up a secondary, sportier nautical theme were his furthest points of silhouette departure. Instead, he pointed out how he covers the preferences of all his markets by spanning conservative to coquettish: evening gowns exposing just enough décolleté to short shorts revealing a whole lot of leg. Brushed denim covered in stars and dresses covered in monochromatic flowers embroidered with ceramic-coated thread—the effect very much akin to delicate porcelain—were most anomalous to the rest of the collection. Comparatively speaking, they were restrained.
