Bouchra Jarrar maintains a tenacious synergy between her couture and ready-to-wear lineups, always sharing her seasonal motifs between both collections. Her goal for the couture is to adapt the genre to modern demands, making it more accessible, though no less luxurious. Jarrar’s taking an increasingly similar approach to rtw. For spring, she used cotton for the very first time. There were structured twill collared shirts — in optic white and khaki — with perhaps the most flattering cargo pants ever cut: long, lean and slightly flared with pockets that were neat, not bulky. It was also the first time she designed a classic, crisp men’s-inspired shirt, in white and classic Oxford blue.
But this was not a lineup of basics, however special they were. “It’s a ready-to-wear collection full of energy,” said Jarrar. She charged the clothes with bold color and athletic accents, elevating riffs on traditional tennis attire to statements in eclectic chic. A varsity sweater in viscose cashmere with striped knit trim worn over a shirtdress with a polo top and color-blocked georgette skirt was fit for the individualist at the country club.