Even though Nehera’s creative director, Samuel Drira, steers clear of the abstract, he imbues garments with plenty of nuance, so that they prove more persuasive on the figure, interacting with each other, than they do when unrelated on hangers. For the Resort collection, Drira addressed a range of wardrobe essentials with thoughtful design modifications: a starched white shirt elaborated with a funnel neck and jersey sleeves, relaxed Japanese denim with Judo belt seaming, and a lacquered leather blouson that felt lightweight despite being reversible. The designer kept his volumes vertical to articulate a Japanese influence; yet by layering crepe de Chine bias-cut dresses atop skirts, adding a cropped overleaf to a white T-shirt, and blousing a djellaba-inspired tunic, he showed that a longitudinal thrust needn’t just hang.
It’s easy to conclude from Nehera’s typically subdued color scheme that the brand leans too safe, which might be why Drira introduced saturated shades of purple and rust that he said evoked the photography of Serge Lutens. But because Drira didn’t commit to them entirely, they came across as outliers. Conversely, photos don’t do justice to the bicolor plissé knits which had the effect of a fluted column, or the delicately fringed dresses and ponchos that draped more substantially than silk. Along with the toe-ring sandals and rational bracelet and buckle forms, these collection highlights spoke to Drira’s interest in neoclassical design. The two-ply T-shirt dress over jogging pants with detachable zip cuffs felt equally new and classic.
