GIF: Jason Wu, Pharrell Williams for G-Star and Suno - Getty
The first look at the new spring/summer 2015 season had all the hallmarks of a major-league New York show: American sportswear, refined, luxurious, effortless – and Karlie Kloss. Can any show this season be complete without La Kloss stalking – no, owning – the runway, and in so doing making all the other gazelles look much less gazelle-like than her? Doubtful.
It was the show, and he called it ‘Beauty’. For good reason: he’d imagined Charlotte Rampling’s ‘impeccable style’ and assembled a collection that, in parts, captured the actress’s mysterious sensuality. You could picture her in one of the supple suede wrap dresses that split open to the thigh, for example, and there was a real sexy decadence to those long, plunge-front, entirely backless finale dresses in rippling satin – Wu’s obligatory red-carpet pitch.
The main thrust of this collection, however, seemed destined for someone quite unlike his heroine, Rampling. A much more crisply dressed, self-contained character – not unlike the woman he has conjured in his other job at Hugo Boss and much more along the lines of America’s First Lady, who famously wore Wu at both her husband’s inaugurations. The question is, will she carry his new ‘Diane’ bag? Named after Wu’s perennial muse, Diane Kruger, the generous clutch-cum-mini-briefcase is sure to get the White House seal of approval – and ours too. No wonder New York-based investor InterLuxe just bought a majority stake in the 31-year-old designer’s business.
Image: Jason Wu, Suno, Jason Wu - Getty
Meanwhile, Pharrell Williams, fresh from London’s Dover Street Market and his perfume collaboration with Comme des Garçons, was downtown in Wall Street unveiling his eco-friendly collaboration with G-Star, a denim collection made from recycled ocean plastic that goes under the banner ‘RAW for the Oceans’. Williams is the creative director of Bionic, a company that produces the recycled yarn. ‘Denim is the perfect category to show the world what Bionic Yarn can do. Everyone has jeans in their closet,’ he said, surrounded by models in shorts, jackets and t-shirts that read ‘Happy Oceans, Happy Life’.
It’s not just Williams lending his cool to conscious clothing, there’s a whole new generation of designers creating credible ethical fashion – not that it’s glaringly obvious looking at it on the catwalk. The days of shapeless, colourless sackcloth are long gone. Last night, it was , the brand produced in Kenya, India and Peru, showing off the skills of those countries talents with its unique prints and textiles. Referencing the artists Louise Bourgeois and Georgia O’Keefe by way of rose prints, checks and a riot of stripes, designers Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty produced a collection that was full of sweet charm.
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