“Quintessential.” Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia agree that this is a moment to focus on what the Oscar de la Renta brand stands for. “Everybody’s spending will be more frugal,” Garcia explained. “Whatever we do, it has to make sense for our business.” That goes for fashion shows—the designers will be sitting out NYFW in favor of a smaller presentation later in the season, and it also goes for the clothes they’re showing for resort.
It’s a subtle reorientation. With home entertaining and garden parties replacing galas and other large events, the cocktail dresses and gowns the house has long been known for have been temporarily shunted to the side. In their place: a vibrant red silk taffeta caftan and another in a graphic stripe that still deliver the trademark OdlR glamour, but in a lower-key way. Elsewhere, they manipulated fabric with strategic cut-outs, say, or hand-painted florals to convey the sense of occasion that they once depended on lavish embroideries for. The ribbon straps that trim a series of silk faille dresses bring a new and not unappealing sense of deshabille to the collection.
Tailoring, meanwhile, was designed with an eye to holiday dressing in gold Lurex tweed, or to warm-weather getaways in a jaunty checked tweed with bucket hats to match. Along with quintessential, the words they were working with were playful and less serious. It’s not just OdlR clients who are longing for more of that.
