Pragmatism is hardly a sexy concept. As far as unglamorous fashionspeak goes, it’s right up there with utilitarianism. Still, there’s no denying that down-to-earth values occupy far more real estate in our lives these days, and that’s familiar territory for Phillip Lim. This season the designer doubled down on practicality, dispensing with the lofty thematic impulses that have guided his runway shows in the past. That’s not to say he’s abandoning whimsy altogether, though there was certainly less of the freewheeling wanderlust he’s been feeling lately.
Lim has always had a knack for cool suiting, arguably ground zero for an urban working wardrobe, and this time around he fashioned the classic two-piece ensemble to look like a one-piece jumper. Picture a check blazer tucked into a pair of high-waisted peg-leg pants—an unusual styling proposition that made surprisingly good sense. Lim also has a natural affinity for layering and managed to work the suggestions of sweetness and intimacy into the collection with the right amount of subtlety. Case in point: Delicate lace-trimmed dresses were worn over baggy pleated pants and under techy all-weather trenchcoats and vests. Take those looks apart and you’ll find that even the pretty little things were grounded in functionality, cut at forgiving angles away from the body like an apron and not remotely clingy. Lim created a Jean Cocteau–inspired print for the collection, perhaps the most romantic aspect of his offering. Those painterly brushstrokes added an unexpected sense of dreaminess to the designer’s twisted 1940s-style dresses and hooded knit ponchos that was safely in the realm of the real.
