Australian-born designer Kym Ellery recently moved her business from Down Under to Paris, and her Fall collection was a reaction to the bourgeois codes of chic she has encountered in places like the Avenue Montaigne. She injected a little Texan flavor into that look for Resort, loosening up the familiar, soigné silhouette of her runway last season, and others before hers, with some western glamour. The all-black power suit got a nice dose of cool with contrast white piping and the beloved cowboy shirt was rendered as a sophisticated button-up midi dress or finished with finely spun fringing. Ellery took the idea of fringing in a more Eastern direction on a kimono-style floral dress, upping the ante on the statement sleeve in a dramatic, eye-catching way.
That said, the ruffled statement blouse is still the brand’s bread and butter, and there were several Victorian styles in crisp cotton at a more approachable price point. The notion of the “forever” dress—that precious, fashion keepsake—has been coming through on the runways of Paris lately, and Ellery addressed it in her own way, via a romantic puff-sleeved dress made from English silk taffeta with a rarefied, Marie Antoinette-like hand. The signature, ’70s-inspired bell-bottoms are still in rotation—and selling like hotcakes in denim—though they weren’t the only voluminous pants in the mix. The new Ellery trouser on the block has a high-waisted, slouchy look that’s poised to make a big impression on the street style circuit and beyond.
