Time and light are the themes that illuminate Filippa K’s spring collection. This year marks the brand’s 30th anniversary, and Liisa Kessler and the team have been contemplating the passage of years. She abstracted the idea by adding a time-worn patina to the clothes, and also introduced a new quatrefoil logo formed from a 9 and a 3, denoting the year of the company’s founding.
The spring 1993 season is remembered for bringing grunge to the runway, but that script never played at Filippa K. During its ’90s golden age the brand established signatures of relaxed tailoring, activewear, and denim that spoke to a generation of health-conscious working women. That decade continues to fascinate, but we can only see it through the filter of today; the 1990s have become fiction. Kessler’s challenge is to translate elements of the past so that they speak to the way we live and dress now. She’s doing that both through reissued pieces and by revisiting a long-lined silhouette, one example being a low-slung, gray tailored secretary skirt that’s paired with a cropped sleeveless V-neck sweater and headband. This isn’t a derivative look, but fans of Narciso Rodriguez’s Cerruti collections will get the vibe immediately.
As to light, the designer’s aim was to capture summer’s golden hour, that short amber-colored sliver of time between day and night. It’s reflected both in the lighting of the set and the palette of the lineup, which (roughly) progresses from light to dark. Kessler said she was thinking of the summers she spent in Finland, where “you get these crazy looks because you go out, maybe with your swimwear… and then it gets cold and you put a nylon parka on top, or your cashmere sweater, and pull on clogs or sandals. It’s this weird mix of garments in a way.” The clogs were there (a collaboration with Swedish Hasbeens), but it might have been interesting if she leaned into that offish real-life vibe. Maybe that was what she was getting at when she sent logoed underwear down the runway. When asked, she explained that it was a continuation of the long john theme introduced in last season’s ski-inspired collection. Here, it made the model look vulnerable rather than confident. In contrast, a moldable viscose and steel tank was alluringly suggestive and strong—in all senses of the word.
A black slip dress with transparent black trimming was also in this vein, and it was nice to see a total look in this separates-strong collection. It’s clear that the designer, who worked with Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, has a mastery of tailoring and flou; sometimes these skills seem to get lost in over-complicated narratives aimed at a too broad audience. Just where are those short suits being worn?
Kessler has a feel for tailoring, as the opening look proves. It combines a sharply tailored miniskirt suit in a shimmering golden hue with a reeditioned knit top and an armband made in collaboration with the Swedish jewelers RAV featuring amber, an extension of the sundown theme.
As for the denim, there’s a smart pair in a glossy black laminate, and railroad stripe options for men and women. Bandeau tops were a theme, but the variety of separates suggested an interest in representing product categories rather than setting a clear direction.
