There was a lot of midshow standing up to fire off phone photos among the audience at Nehera, a response that seemed disproportionate to the studied neutrality of the clothes. Sure, there were jolts of quirk and color here and there, and a sometimes effective play of the synthetic and sportswear touched against the organic and monastic, but this was not pulse-racing stuff. It wasn’t supposed to be either.
Instead, this was a collection in which you considered subtleties: the full billowing back of a white poplin shirt and a black shirtdress; the slick sheen of cycling shorts against the slubby roughness of the linen cowl coat worn over it; and the gathering at each hip on what looked like a lab coat in pale blue. Quite clever and fresh-looking was a sort of front-facing martingale on some semitailored women’s jackets. Some quirk didn’t work, such as a too-try-hard single-suspender skirt and a heavily belted black men’s tailoring look that seemed a clumsy redux of GmBH’s gorgeous June statement. The harnessed-on hard-case handbag was a good idea in theory; however, in execution, that strapping messed with the lines of the garments beneath and looked less effortless than unthought through when looped under the wearer’s posterior. Open-back trenches and jackets with an opening at the armpit to allow the sleeves to go unused were standard with-a-twist womenswear: meh.
The abstract shapes on knits and prints by Laco Teren were attractive enough, and some looks generated an arresting color clash—especially red versus orange—which was all the more impactful amid the black and neutrals that dominated this perfectly fine collection.
