Life today requires a lot of resilience, motivation, and ‘not taking no for an answer.’ Current situations -- which shall not be named -- thrust a generation and generations to come into an expansive well of debt. Accordingly, we have dressed ourselves in that comparable to a soldier’s uniform. We are ready to react to the obstacle of the day, whether it’s getting the dog down the elevator just in the knick of time or unexpectedly having to survive on unemployment checks.
We’ve seen combat boots, functional flannel, and tattered denim army roll its way down the runway. Now, slashing one’s own clothing as if to appear as if heroically returning from battle may have first been popularized several hundreds of years ago, but so has the expectation of ladylike behavior.
As the dust settles from the economic explosion, we are left with closets full of androgynous garments suited to endure, to prolong, to just get through the day. For some, this styling is most likely here to stay, with comfort and perhaps a bit less care – or the appearance of so – put into the day’s garb from now on. And yet, there are those of us who are itching to reclaim our femininity and embrace what it means to be a lady, perhaps just a little more wisely. A new sensibility is infused into our personalities, one that is street savvy and sexual: enter the nu-femme fatale.
It was well apparent this season that designers sensed this desire to move away from our tomboy personas while still wanting to remain prepared to react at a moment’s notice. Femme pieces were infused with masculine details not for ironic juxtaposition as with the past, but to allow the ultimate seduction of one’s own future in order to provide the best end results.
Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi, the designers behind Preen, depicted this shift wonderfully in their Fall 2010 collection. Sheers and florals tease and taunt while oversized men’s suit jackets leave one curious as to what, if anything, is being worn underneath. Underwear layered over lady length dresses and skirts are presented as if to answer these questions. Looks are completed with lace-up heeled oxfords that give the illusion of seriousness, with a little kick.
In his first independent showing, Nathan Jenden takes a different approach, yet masters the concept of surviving in this demanding world, all while looking absolutely ravishing. Bright and unapologetic prints serve as an urban camouflage. Lovely dresses inspired by 1940s silhouettes paired with leggings reminiscent of scuba or riding gear, suggest the ability to spring into action.
Over at Rachel Comey, ladylike looks were celebrated while sheer pants seduced. With the presence of satins and toying of a peek there, some major leg there, the Rachel Comey girl is sure to succeed in even the direst situations. Multiple layers allow the transition from day into night, or office to battlefield, to be unburdened.
In a time, when the future is nearly impossible to predict and our combat boots are becoming tiresome, we can look subtly sweet and permanently provocative without having to kick the door down – unless you’re into that kind of thing.
MATURITY INDEX REBOOT
13 years ago
