Derek Lam moved to a new venue, upping the design impact of his set with an angular maze of low seating in light brown wood through which his models meandered. “We wanted a bit more atmosphere,” he said.
And more diversity to the fashion. After several seasons of one-note motifs, Lam determined to incorporate a broader cast of characters. He found inspiration, he said, in “New York women, specifically Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest and those Woody Allen kinds of characters.” The ruse was more than cinematic homage. Lam works the trunk-show circuit himself, and hears from women directly on what they want when it comes to their wardrobes. “We do that, from tailoring to sweaters to dresses, and casual evening,” Lam said.
You can’t get much more direct than that: real clothes on the runway. Lam provided the goods without drawing straight lines to any of his characters, but with the touch of Seventies that has become a signature. A simple sweater and skirt went schoolgirl cool when the skirt came in high-shine patent and art-student interesting in camel with graphic felted edges. Such details converted classics into fashion: the double hem on the jacket of a sleek pantsuit; exaggerated elements — a bold collar, an open back — that intensified the glam of several ultrachic trenchcoats.
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Lam’s approach is decidedly lean on fireworks. He thinks clients first, editorial fodder a distant second. “I ask women, ‘how do you use fashion?’ and I try to respond to that,” he said. Touché.