This pre-fall collection was a shower of gold, platinum — and sensuality. It channeled the no-holds-barred days of ’30s Hollywood before the Hays Code, which restricted what could — and couldn’t — be seen on screen.
“There were no boundaries, no rules. Hollywood was bursting with energy, so the collection is playful, flirtatious and sensual,” said the London-based Jenny Packham, a red carpet regular who dressed actresses Anne Marie Duff and Rhea Seehorn for awards ceremonies earlier this year.
Packham packed pre-fall full of sparkling, curvy shapes and strong, square shoulders, which she said her customers love.
Among her many powerful silhouettes was a gold dress with short sleeves that was covered in tiny, velvet-y sequins; a shimmering floor-length platinum cape worn over a matching dress, and an electric pink gown with a V-neck and tiny, shrunken capelet kissing the shoulders.
While Packham’s inspiration may have been a wild, erotic Hollywood, the collection was polished and demure.
One black dress had elbow-length beaded sleeves, while a shimmering cape with peaked shoulders covered the flesh exposed by a strapless black gown. A magenta gown had a deep V-neck and sweeping, mile-long sleeves.
These were glamorous clothes, but practical and versatile, too. It’s clear that Packham is designing for women of different shapes and sizes, not just the petite, curvy screen sirens of a Hollywood that’s long gone.
