On the Jane Wade fall runway, Lisa Rinna was the HBIC.
Or as Wade referred to her backstage, the chief financial officer of a fictitious corporate giant attempting to absorb the designer’s independent company — a part of the show’s overarching, tongue-in-cheek storyline about the “theatricality of the deal.”
Before Rinna, clad in new sharp-shouldered, tropical wool tailoring and a signature striped poplin button-down, power-walked her way into the circular runway’s center boardroom, Wade set the stage with refreshed takes on her cheeky, utility-bent sartorial corporate archetypes.
The hierarchy of office dynamics spanned from interns — a model donning a great new lofty cashmere zip-front sweater with slashed utility skirt who was tasked with bringing the Olipop beverages to the meeting — to executive assistants to senior vice presidents and up.
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Wade said the theme was a response to her personal and professional growth, pointing out the intern [or Wade, five years prior] and executive assistant who each wore new pencil-skirted cashmere looks detailed with the brand’s custom cast hardware. They were strong examples of Wade’s continued push to bridge the gap between the made-to-order, specialty styles and the retail friendly, workwear-meets-officeware (but sexuality-tinged) classics.
Alongside her signature, still-great twisted cotton pinstripe shirting and exaggerated utilitarian layers, were sharp wool tailoring, fully fashioned cashmere knitwear, and strong-shouldered topcoats. All of it reflected a maturity for the designer — one that should continue leveling Wade up to the top of the boardroom.