Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs drew from the 1998 movie “Great Expectations,” Alfonso Cuarón’s modern-day adaptation of the Dickens novel. Channeling a streamlined Nineties sensibility, the duo aimed to capture the effortlessness of the wardrobe worn by star Gwyneth Paltrow as the heroine Estella, working their signature body-con silhouettes with simplicity and allure. “It has a painterly feel,” said Cushnie, noting the collection’s generally soft palette and a few printed floral gowns that resembled watercolor paintings. “But it’s still a little mysterious in the way that she’s sort of a seductress.”
Strap and string embellishments were the focal point of cocktail dresses — they were bunched together with gold hardware and used as embellishment or draped around necklines as “built-in chokers.” Elsewhere, ribbed knit slipdresses and tube tops channeled the decade’s minimalism, along with tailored suiting in stretch twill, lightweight denim and textured jacquard. The lineup also included a few flirty jumpsuits, of which a culotte halter style was a highlight.