Over the last few years, California-based co-designers Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern — who will soon be celebrating Co’s 10-year anniversary — have been slowly evolving their bread-and-butter pre-season collections with timeless, minimalist brand ethos, as well as the idea of uniform dressing, at the forefront.
“Our silhouette is quite oversized — we’re volume-driven, a little oversized, not overly showing the body because it’s what’s going on underneath. The essentials are definitely our more basic line; during the main collection we present a more fashion-forward offering and refined silhouettes,” Danan said during a preview of the Co pre-fall collection.
The look: Quintessential, luxe wardrobing with minimalist appeal.
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Quote of note: “In this particular look book, we pushed the styling a little further to show how these essentials could be worn with a menswear feeling. We always play very much between the masculine and feminine. Because we dress a powerful woman with a great sense of self, we wanted to show the more masculine side of the essentials,” Danan explained, adding: “There’s a certain amount of elegance and grace to her wardrobe, and it seems effortless even though that’s such a cliche word.…We’ve evolved in terms of adding fabrications — this season we added linen, outerwear, a little bit more suited within the context and idea of wardrobing.”
Key pieces: A classic, oversized belted trenchcoat with slight ’80s feel; little menswear vests atop clean, softly feminine blouses (sleek button-downs, or versions with voluminous sleeves) and fluid skirts, as well as atop a stellar olive jumpsuit; quintessential knits; a color-blocked olive and burgundy bubble dress, and new menswear-inspired suiting (blazers, myriad trousers).
The takeaway: “It’s about going beyond basics. Basics right now are everywhere and as a luxury brand, it’s about elevating those in terms of the way they’re styled, in terms of colorways and thinking about what our woman should have in her closet,” Kern said, aptly describing the collection’s pleasing blend of neutrals and new fall-forward palette.