A well-thumbed book by the jet-set photographer Slim Aarons was the arresting visual clue to Jenny Packham’s inspiration this Pre-Fall. The London designer had been immersing herself in the fabulous world of Aarons’s Women, in a collection that pulled its palette right from his saturated images. So a candid shot of legendary socialite Babe Paley off-duty at her Jamaican retreat gave rise to sumptuous cinder rose palazzo pants and a crystal-embellished crop top, while Jackie O at the April in Paris ball—and a bevy of dewy-skinned 1960s debutantes—inspired gowns that ran the gamut from pearl to golden quartz to cherry red.
Packham’s midcentury source material resonated strongest in the simplest looks. Flared-sleeved gowns with clean-lined silhouettes and minimal sprinklings of hot-fix crystals, rich wool wrap coats with abstract crystal motifs, and a crepe cocktail dress with a lightly embellished tulle neckline—all were striking in their restraint. These are the looks that will most seamlessly make their way into the lives and wardrobes of Packham’s own glamorous circle of women. Whether that’s Rachel Weisz or Sandra Oh, her beautifying aesthetic feels entirely simpatico with Aarons’s own mission statement to capture “attractive people, doing attractive things in attractive places.”
