When Tommy Ton joined Deveaux as creative director two years ago, this New York label was a menswear line. Today, its business is 95% women’s wear. All those years shooting street style outside the shows for Style.com have paid off. Ton says observation is only part of it, though; careful listening to what his friends, customers, and friends who have become customers want is also essential. He hears women ask for sleeves that cover their upper arms, pants without pleats (which can be hip-widening), and skirts with specific made-to-be-flattering proportions. That may sound dry, but Ton enthuses about such details. He’s not in this for the runway glory, he seems to truly enjoy the nitty gritty of making clothes.
After a couple of seasons of shows in their home base of New York, Ton and Deveaux’s designer Andrea Tsao opted for a showroom presentation in Paris. The attractions of this brand aren’t editorial, their efforts are aimed not at magazine pages but squarely at women’s everyday wardrobes. So this was a sound business decision, and it also gave Ton the chance to discuss fabric choices and other design moves. As people running a small company, Ton and Tsao are practicing sustainability by using fabrics across categories. This season that means they made a shirt dress and a poncho anorak hybrid in the same khaki shade of water-resistant cotton nylon—pragmatic for the brand and for their often on-the-road customers. Zip-front boots made in collaboration with Malone Souliers had a hardy appeal.
The strongest statements were found among the outerwear. A channel quilted sleeveless coat could indeed catch a photographer’s eye, and there was something similarly arresting about a prodigious marled rib scarf with a neck hole that ensures it stays securely in place. Practicality with a side of drama—it’s a formula that women really respond to.
