Driven by a deep connection to the earth—and her California environs—Awaveawake’s Jaclyn Hodes has never lacked for inspiration in her own backyard (nestled in picturesque Topanga Canyon, no less). This season, though, Hodes took a cue from the transformative tones that echo the scenery of Hydra, Greece, a romance that felt like a fitting interlude and welcome departure from the expected. The depth and unique vibrations in the interplay of vivid corals, sun-deepened peaches, ripened olives, and Aegean blues found in Hydra’s ambient light brought life to the sustainable collection’s signature diaphanous silhouettes and lent them a soulful appeal. Designing solely in silks for Spring (with charmeuse and some chiffon as layers), Hodes continued to successfully iterate on her brand of luxury basics.
As is her custom, slip dresses continue to be the backbone of Hodes’s collection, strongly rendered for Spring in bias-cut waistband and front-seam versions. The designer knows her strengths, still delivering the lengthening A-line tailoring and sophisticated subtlety of label- and print-free pieces, but she also kept it feeling fresh with standout capes, her take on a bed jacket, and a choli top, inspired by traditional sari dressing. The line’s lithe layers are where the designer has cut her cloth, so to speak, but for Spring, she experimented too with structure, designing a waisted backless halter dress and louche trouser pants into the mix, which will no doubt expand her appeal.
Equally alluring were those aforementioned colors, using natural botanical dyes (sometimes leaves, sometimes bark, and even flowers) that vividly alchemized the silk, giving it a unique, almost transcendent luminosity. Looking no further than Hodes’s Spring ’18 video featuring Kirsty Hume in her neo-nymph element, it’s evident that Awaveawake has legs in the realm of foundational dressing. Not just for the sake of beauty, but for the sake of the planet and Hodes’s driving desire to protect it.
