Brooks Brothers might be known for its serious business attire, but since taking the helm of its womenswear operation in 2014, Zac Posen has injected it with a sense of fun. Resort might be his most lively offering yet, mixing up groovy ’60s graphics with rainbow-striped Lurex knits. The house’s monogram has been transformed into an interlocked B flower on classic cardigans. Elsewhere petit point embroideries of tiny flowers are scattered about a knit. There’s even a palazzo pant-tunic combo.
Still, Posen’s strength at Brooks is to counterbalance his own playfulness with the BB essentials. The first piece in the showroom isn’t leaf green or printed in Pierre Marie florals but traditional: a navy blazer with gold buttons. Posen has elongated the jacket to cut a cooler silhouette. He’s been upgrading Brooks’s shirtdresses since his start; in outsized plaids with bow belts, they’ve become best sellers. Now he’s taking on jackets and outerwear, zhuzhing them to cooler, more relaxed proportion. The navy blazer is an excellent example of the potential for the chillification of Brooks Brothers’s prep.
