For the pre-fall season, designer Sally LaPointe was inspired by the works of photographer Vivian Sassen for her blend of fine art and fashion through shadows, shapes and colors.
“She’s really well known for her unmistakable images and she has this unbelievable balance to blend fine art and fashion together, which I identify with a lot as I was originally in school for painting. For me, it’s always about a combination of fine art and fashion together, so approaching this almost like a painting. I looked at her colors, too, which are very strong but a bit more grounded and relaxing, in a way, so I wanted that to be the overall feeling,” LaPointe said.
Inspired by Sassen’s palette, LaPointe whipped up her signature downtown cool meets glamorous monochromatic looks in a palette of sienna, merlot, grape, mustard, black, coral, cream and periwinkle. There was even a multicolored mustard and black textural print on a bold jacquard eyelash fringed set.
Aside from the strong yet subdued palette, the biggest news for the season came in the form of casual fabrications, which were smartly balanced with her signature megawatt embellishments. For instance, jackets with low-slung belted trousers were rendered in crinkle vinyl and paired with slouchy cotton sweaters; faux leather was hand-embroidered in India to create the season’s netted trousers; a tiny knit bandeau was styled with playful “loofah” embroidered pants, and signature feathers came on poplin shirting. There was also a good balance of denim (great in blossom pink with hand-distressed details); tailoring (a boxy blazer could be buttoned up “tight, or extra tight”), and party-worthy, skin-revealing (a mesh diamond fringe number) or sequined dresses and separates.
In summary, LaPointe’s pre-fall assortment continued to embrace her luxe take on daringly cool wardrobing.
