With a basic QR code, you can beam Lia Pavlova into your living room. It takes a minute to get the hang of “placing her” in the space, but then she’s walking, posing, and giving you multiple angles of Khaite’s new pre-fall collection. The AR experience is an evolution of the one Catherine Holstein launched for spring 2021, which included only shoes; now we’re getting the full look, and it’s surprisingly realistic.
Pavlova’s brisk pace gives you a sense of how a zig-zagging cardigan coat will swing as you walk, for instance, and by zooming in on a buttery suede jacket or ruched dress, you can get a pretty accurate sense of the texture. But the real takeaway is seeing these clothes in your own lived space: Instead of imagining how a puffed-sleeve bustier and wide-leg khakis might translate to your life, seeing Pavlova in the look—next to your couch, your houseplants, your mess—offers an immediate preview. No, it isn’t you wearing the clothes (though designers might experiment with that technology down the line), but it’s a lot more convincing than a runway photo or high-concept look book.
What makes this particular AR experiment successful is that most of these clothes will, in fact, look right at home in your apartment. Holstein is an intuitive and product-oriented designer who cares about how her clothes are worn and lived in, not just how they look on a catwalk or in a moody video.
For pre-fall, she was especially focused on comfort, practicality, and ease—“nothing frivolous,” she said. Floor-sweeping hemlines felt excessive, so there were boxy peacoats and ’60s-ish miniskirts instead. The stronger, tougher feeling of spring 2021 carried through in the combat boots and patent over-the-knee styles, shown here with voluminous evening tops, cozy knit dresses, and narrow jeans. Even her signature bubble dresses felt casualized and couch-friendly, whipped up in crinkled viscose and styled on Sasha Pivovarova with a shrunken blazer, black tights, and no jewelry.
You can get a better sense of the clothes on Pavlova through the AR experience. A testament to its effects: In the past, this reviewer might have considered that dress too fancy to justify for my “regular life,” one that doesn’t involve black-tie parties every weekend. But seeing it (virtually) inhabit my Lower East Side one-bedroom, styled in an offhand way, the impression was different. I could wear that.
Speaking of parties, Holstein said she wasn’t really thinking about “re-emerging”; she prefers to design for the moment she’s living in, not for some hazy future (one that has become increasingly difficult to predict). Still, by the time this collection is in stores, it’s fair to assume that many of her customers will be getting vaccinated and resuming their normal-ish lives. Holstein acknowledged they’ll likely be in the mood to dress up, but with items that feel comforting and sensitive to the year we just endured. You’ll notice there are exactly zero stilettos for pre-fall, and little in the way of flashy embellishments. The androgynous, hardware-free leather and suede jackets and flat knee-high boots—including a pair in burnished gold—will offer a just-right balance of excitement and ease in 2021.
