Christopher Esber thinks that, given the pace of life today, all his women may benefit from a little bit of grounding. To help them get there, he’s embellished his signature “piercing” hardware with crystals like smoky quartz (for clear thinking) and polished red jasper (to enhance the connection with nature). Because each stone has its own properties, he’s added a little explanatory notice on those pieces.
The designer says the trait he admires most in women is gutsiness—as opposed to high-gloss glamour—because low-key grit is more compelling than preciousness. Looking to the women in his personal orbit, he offered up square-shouldered pieces in men’s suiting or cotton poplin, spliced with waves of French lace or embellished with interlocking beaded crystal ropes. Midriff-baring designs are Esber’s stock-in-trade, but he also threw in a few more demure pieces—a blouse with a leather lavaliere, a tailored jacket with the cutout above the left breast, and a few evening dresses with more discreet peek holes on the side. For color, he offered a few prints that were ink-sponge-crayon abstractions in Klein blue or terra-cotta. The idea, the designer said, was to give women some pieces that they could throw on as easily as a (ruched) T-shirt. Not surprisingly, the looks that spoke softly were the most convincing ones.
