Preparing her debut Resort collection, said Holly Fulton, demanded she flex her creativity in a new and satisfying way: “We set out to do something a bit more commercial. And I’m not known for being rampantly commercial.” Fulton listened to feedback from her best customers and partners, then tweaked her practice. She pared back the embellishment, retained the print, focused on her most successful shapes, and produced much of the collection in cotton (because that’s what the customers said they wanted). “I really like the challenge of doing something within a certain price point. And it was very interesting shooting the collection with just one model, Lorna Foran; the way she interpreted the collection was fascinating.”
Winners on the rail included the light cotton-canvas separates in a graphic hubbub of crazy-mosaic stripes, denim pieces paneled with the same canvas, embroidered sweats and silks featuring two Art Deco party girl characters, light organza skirts and dresses in a faded monochrome gingham, some vibrant intarsia knit polos and sweaters produced with John Smedley, pajama suits in kaleidoscope florals, and a fluted pouf dress decorated with dyed crystal-peppered flowers. Ah, so there was embellishment? But of course, just a bit less than on Fulton’s runway. A sleeveless dress with a collar and front spine of florals pieced together in a delicate jigsaw of wooden beads was a standout example.
