After hanging close to the studio since she first appeared, the Area siren emerged into the world this season—namely onto a boat on the Hudson where Resort’s lookbook was lensed. “She has a bag!” designer Piotrek Panszczyk said at a preview. If the more editorial, high-glam qualities of Area’s aesthetic have perhaps denied them the widespread commendations that the brand deserves (someone, get them onto those awards shortlists!), then their Resort offering left little doubt that Panszczyk and codesigner Beckett Fogg are more than capable of serving up clothes easily worn by a whole lot of men and women.
They haven’t lost sight of their sheeny, disco-spiked aesthetics, but this new lineup made clear the full extent of Area’s versatility. The embossed lamés remained, as appealing as ever, but here the pair washed them after, leaving behind only the damage from the braille-like stamping. Elsewhere were the most notable forays into print the label’s seen yet: trompe l’oeil ribbons and swathes of fabric that formed “bandeaus” on maxi dresses, cinched skirt waists, and rippled serpentine down the front of a crisp shirtdress—the tension between artifice and reality remains of perennial interest to the designers. And if those styles recalled the wit of Bill Blass at the height of his powers, it was no accident. The duo had been revisiting the masters of American sportswear; the reference was palpable in styles like a lustrous silk shirtdress that Fogg sported, or the slim, zip-front skirt in embossed light denim. Indeed, Area’s is the most compelling riff on classically “Resort” sensibilities that this writer’s seen all season long.
Back to their muse’s aforementioned bag: Among a handful of exciting things percolating for the brand in the months to come, here they debuted an impeccably cool bag in two sizes—glittering rhinestone strap optional . . . and highly encouraged.
