Lee Mathews excels at two poles: workwear and diaphanous dresses. To the uninitiated, these would seem like perfect opposites, one pragmatic and purposeful, the other entirely frivolous and fun. What Mathews and her codesigner, Natalia Grzybowski, have done best for pre-fall is build a world where overdyed chore coats and paper-bag pants live in harmony with ruffles the size of the Ritz. They make sense of it all by relying on the dramatic architecture of their shapes.
This season the overarching silhouette is straight, with the action at the periphery—neck, shoulder, hem—or the occasional paper-bag waist. As such, the collection works as a series hero pieces but also like a puzzle where a high-neck day dress can be worn underneath a smart trench, or a voluminous tent dress can be grounded with the help of a slim knit base layer. There’s plenty of drama in these pieces—Mathews and Grzybowski like to make a statement with their shapes—but it’s a wearable, useful kind of fashion magic.
