Of the many schools of thought on how to present a pre-collection in circulation, Phillip Lim’s method felt like a good standard by which to judge. His pristine showroom was impeccably set up for the upcoming sales market, as was a board featuring the images from his look book — shot with a strong point of view but also clean and crisp so one could easily see the clothes. (There were no contrived, affected poses obscuring the collection for the sake of mood.)
The collection itself was also more than an interim delivery. “You usually think about pre-spring as easy-to-buy, digestible merchandise,” Lim said. “This time I was, like, screw that. It should be about, ‘why do we need another dress?’” In other words: desire, which Lim delivered with freshness. Not one to lose sight of the end game, all of the clothes were easy to buy and digestible, but done up with special details and sense of the new.
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He designed with Sixties/Seventies Venice Beach in mind, interlacing elements of moody bohemia, surf and skate, and tomboy attitude. A psychedelic, black-based floral print popped on a dress with cutout shoulders and pleated sleeves, which was trimmed with a halterlike ribbon stitched with a dotty, home-sewing machine pattern. It had a lot going on, yet was completely wearable. Tops and dresses with embroidered bra top accents balanced the soft and the daring sides of lingerie dressing. Chic hippie ease came through in marled knit tops and matching pants, and Hawaiian print pajama sets. And proper suits — in black bonded linen and abstract madras stripes — gave boy-dressing a sharp, feminist flair.