Rather than choose a far-flung locale or other peripatetic reference this season, Cinq à Sept founder Jane Siskin and her team decided to more generally design clothes for their girl—who does, it so happens, find herself frequently on the road anyway. This meant slightly reworked versions of brand staples: statement pants, studded suit coats, and yes, slogan tees. Another slogan tee, you might ask? Cinq’s riposte appears on the shirt in question: “Je Ne Care Pas.”
There was a mishmash of cultural nods, from those French bon mots to the swirling Eastern dragon embroidered on a blue velvet slip and robe coat. Chinese design references remain as popular as ever; more appeared in the qipao-like cut of a peach dress and a cute mock-turtleneck mesh top that was cropped, ruched up the center, and embroidered with little flowers (Chinese slippers zhuzhed with lengths of silk ribbon doubled the effect). We’ll see more of this cross-cultural blend in Spring 2019, Siskin said, as the desire to foster understanding—to eliminate the differences that divide us—has been playing on her mind. A worthy goal, but one that warrants a word of caution: Such lifting and mixing can easily veer into appropriation. Besides, many of the collection’s best items were basics: the perfect candy-colored faux fur, a simple black sheath, a good cropped utility pant, and a nice series of ribbed scoop-neck tops, impossible to offend.
