Jourden’s Anais Mak is fascinated by the “aspirations of girls,” which she says, without any disclaimer, includes their need “to be looked at and complimented.” If we work from this premise, her latest collection seems well poised for recognition. Within a rainbow-walled school gymnasium, her youthful models hung around in looks that were cheekily ladylike, sending the message that today’s cool clique opts for mixed-material smock dresses, buttoned-up oxford shirts, and full skirts over branded sportswear. But prissy they weren’t. By employing alternative fabrics and surface details such as feathery fil coupe, glossy micro dots heat-pressed atop tulle, and borders of rose gold discs in lieu of studs, she imbued the elegant lineup with a lightly rebellious touch. The waistlines of the skirts were draped in a way that confirmed this vibe, as did a cut-out on the back of a sweater that reintegrated the polo collar.
The important point here is how Mak favored modern crafted materials when showing throwback silhouettes; the offering’s statement coat wasn’t a dainty brocade from a grandmother’s closet, but rather boiled double-layer polyester that puckered in an unfamiliar, although not unappealing, way. The peplum top with crisscrossed straps seemed to be pleading for a window of exposed skin, yet overall, these girls were appropriating polish, not resisting it. “Being proper is out of fashion,” insisted Mak, somewhat overgeneralizing the landscape. But the
Hong Kong–based designer (Jourden is her middle name) is proposing a fresh spin on the straitlaced, and Barneys New York, Ikram, Isetan, and Colette are among the retailers buying in. Speaking of laced, the extreme ballerina flats and Mary Janes are part of a capsule collection with French footwear brand Carel. The extroverted, reinvented retro styles and colorways may force the adult girlishness, but some women will swoon over them.
