“It’s about femininity in all its forms,” said Area’s Piotrek Panszczyk from the brand’s massive new studio on the Bowery. “From hard-core sex kitten to something daintier with pink, daisies, and crystals.” That might sound impossibly broad, but reaching out to all the hot girls, quirky chicks, and vampish women is something Area has specialized in since the brand was founded in 2013—and in a way, resort 2022 feels like something of a homecoming.
The collection (which consists of nearly 100 pieces, though regrettably only 11 looks are shown) spans racy lingerie dotted with crystal bows, chic ivory suiting dangling with crystal fringe, and kitschy denim punctuated with massive brass studs.
It’s a lot of look and a lot of drama for a ready-to-wear offering—but Panszczyk affirms it sells. In fact, customers are reportedly so moved by Area’s hyper-realized glamour that one recently drove from Pennsylvania to the brand’s New Jersey warehouse to pick up a look for her birthday. “People are like that,” she said with a laugh. “They need a look for a birthday, a party, an event—and they need it now!”
Party options are many this season, with Area creating its own lace from crystal patterns, drawing inspiration from medieval armor for giant studded leather bows and bustiers, and ingeniously embellishing a black minidress with bright red press-on nails for a “rhinestoned at the nail salon” bit of camp. A growing denim offering adds to the label’s ready-to-wear expansion, as do its popular platform clogs and square-toed mules, now adorned with sweet little daisy charms. With the collection landing on Area’s e-commerce site today, it seems like only a matter of time before bombshells from Miami to Macau start trying out the brand’s manic new femininity. After the fits and starts of 2021, a little shimmer is hard to resist.
