Remember intellectual fashion? Thank God it has at least one gifted champion — Haider Ackermann. Certainly the term “intellectual fashion” and its human variant, “fashion intellectuals” (both the practitioners of the genre and those editors who swooned over their work), were not initially bestowed as compliments (at least at WWD), but rather badges of pretension with which John B. Fairchild was less than enamored.
Yet in today’s marketing-driven world, how wonderful to sit at a show and wonder about the thought process that led to such exquisite clothes. Both the deep, thematic thoughts (or faux-deep, this is fashion) and the technical ilk — how to construct this piece so that the visual complication registers, but the item functions? Where to inset this block of flat fabric into a high-texture tweed; how to make dual-fabric leggings that make sense?
Backstage after his show, Ackermann said he thought about “the failures of life” when designing this collection. He referenced scarring, and put the notion into a clothing context: “When you have to repair, stitch, you take old tweeds and do a patchwork.” Hence, the seemingly random, almost frenetic white stitching up the length of a sleeve, across the back of a jacket or running down a pair of killer boots.
Ackermann’s approach avoided dishabille by miles; his work could not be more precise. He favored a base of lush, mixed tweeds for a lean silhouette focused on trim, strong-shouldered coats with wrapped waists and shrunken, intricately constructed jackets over slightly low-slung pants. While avoiding flou (but for one sweeping black stunner), he incorporated small indulgences of pleats, typically in short kilts worn askew, and lovely blouses, including one covered in front by chiffon patches, loosely attached.
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Ackermann never loses sight of the sophisticated woman for whom he designs, a strong woman who lives a full life — failures included. But not this fall. When it comes to her wardrobe at least, she’ll be close to perfect.