Gabriela Hearst is as obsessive about fabrics as designers come. To comb through the racks at her studio is to become acquainted with aloe linen that actually moisturizes the skin, a hand-knit so downy it’s almost weightless, and deadstock denim whose virtues extend beyond its eco bona fides. Especially impressive this season was the macramé detailing spliced between the pleats of otherwise quite minimal dresses and skirts, but there was an abundance of special workmanship. See: the whipstitching that connected two separate pieces of double-face cashmere, turning coats into three-dimensional puzzles, and the precision pleating on an elegant trench.
Hearst just launched a menswear collection. Through the development process, she’s started making some of her women’s tailoring at a menswear factory, and she proudly showed off the results. Suiting has become a key part of her label; the most interesting development in this area: the jackets that gathered and tied at the waist, not with belts but via pattern-making and construction.
She lavishes just as much attention on her accessories. Her signature Nina bag comes in stripes this season. She laughed describing how difficult those stripes were to get right on the Nina’s rounded, shell-like shape. An added bonus, she’s selling them with matching hand-knit crossbody bags.
