Khaite is a line premised on jeans and sweaters, but there’s always a surprise (or three) to discover in Cate Holstein’s collections. For Pre-Fall 2018, the first was a nearly neon shade of pink, seen on a trenchcoat, trousers, and a round-sleeved dress. The Khaite woman isn’t super-feminine, and she likely isn’t attuned to the bold, trendy colors we’ve seen on recent runways, either. But she does favor an offbeat choice. In the lookbook, Jean Campbell wears those shocking pink trousers with a banker blue shirt, satin heels, and minimal makeup, and looks singularly chic.
The bold color tied into the lineup’s broader undercurrent: a push-pull between late-’70s and early-’80s style. The weighty crocodile belt with gold-tone hardware felt like a statement piece from the latter era, while the flared jeans, checked suits, and poplin button-downs nodded to the groovy former. As for the generous puffed sleeves, the effect was ’70s prairie on a crisp white blouse, but on the punch-pink dress, it was ’80s decadence. Holstein said she was thinking about a young girl’s coming of age, when she’s starting to figure out her look and taste; she might cherry-pick from multiple aesthetics or eras before landing on her personal style.
Khaite fans will be happy to see tweaked variations on Khaite signatures, too. Along with the flares, there was a new cropped jean with contrast stitching and a wide, slightly-bowed leg, which Holstein noted as a slimming trick of the eye. A jacket that can be worn as a dress has become a less-obvious Khaite-ism, too; past seasons have included a sleeveless trench and an extra-long blazer styled without pants. Pre-Fall’s iteration was a faultless single-button ivory jacket that fell to mid-thigh and had a curving, bonded hourglass shape that looked even better from behind.
