Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim staged their Oscar de la Renta Pre-Fall presentation at the Picnic House at Pier 40 last Thursday. It was a brisk but sunny morning, and the Hudson and the skyscrapers on either side of it glimmered. The location was chosen specifically for the collection they designed. Garcia said they were thinking about the season, six months in the future, when these clothes will arrive in stores: summertime at the seaside. Seagulls flocked, as a print on a shirtdress, as embroidery on a peplum tunic, and as intarsia on a mink coat. And fish (or rather fish bones) schooled, first as shoulder-duster earrings and later as a large laser-cut leather appliqué on a tulle gown. A little of this will go a long way—nautical miles—but there were subtler interpretations of the theme, like a postcard-print cowl-back blouse and matching spiral-seamed skirt, as well as “fishnet” sweaters, that will be easier for the landlubbers in the crowd to embrace.
Better were the pieces that bypassed the theme altogether. Garcia and Kim have shown themselves to be quite handy with shirting at their other label, Monse. Here, they gave it an Oscar flair, cutting the shirts in starchy white poplin and adding dramatic cuffs. A black wool crepe dress with pearls embroidered on its three-quarter sleeves was pretty faultless, as was its slim coat twin. The other outerwear here was grand in a way that Mr. De la Renta might have recognized, yet modern, too. A reversible ivory shearling would’ve been just the thing for the chilly trip from the pier back to the office.
