Designer Sylvie Millstein called on a few friends to help her out with her first-ever pre-fall collection, asking the editors, stylists, and entrepreneurs she knows to style themselves in pieces from her new Hellessy outing. The idea was to showcase the clothes on real and very busy women. Millstein wanted to show that she really does design with practicality in mind, and that she wants to give these moms and multi-hyphenates clothes that stand out while also providing comfort, versatility, and ease.
“Timeless” was a word the designer kept referring to as she pointed out a hybrid sweater/shirtdress and cropped tuxedo jackets as examples of items to buy and wear on repeat. She said that nothing this season was too “trendy” and that her day-to-night items—the red silk minidress with obi belt and the one-shoulder and off-the-shoulder balloon-sleeve blouses—were meant to have a long-lasting freshness to them.
Having stripped away some of her signature asymmetric detailing and glamazon evening embellishments, this was one of Millstein’s most succinct and confident collections in recent seasons. She should continue down this path.
