Uma Wang’s show began on a political note. A male voice announced the date of July 28, 1914 — the day Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, effectively beginning the First World War. As a result, it was hard not to read her fall collection through that prism.
Wang focused on outfits that melded military influences with opulent fabrics in Renaissance patterns. Roomy overcoats in khaki or pinstriped wool were randomly spliced with rich brocades, conjuring the image of ruined aristocrats pulling down the drapes to turn them into clothes.
Washed wool jackets with raw seams had a lived-in feel, while a jacket morphing into a fringed blanket in front brought to mind images of refugees. Wang did not explore the soundtrack reference in her show notes, instead referring to “the codification of Romanticism and the masculine beauty of the military wardrobe.”
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But the way her oversize creations swathed the body seemed to scream: “Take shelter!” That protective mood, and an overly drab color scheme, turned the display into something of a downer.