The long and lean aesthetic of two 20th century artists gave Vera Wang a strong new direction this season. She turned to the haunting elongated faces in the paintings of Amedeo Modigliani and the stick figure bronzes by Alberto Giacometti to inspire her collection of reserved elegances.
In an delicate runway dance Wang had her models appear on the catwalk from two directions, making it possible to appreciate the front and back of ensembles, from flowing pleated skirts and stiff breastplate tops strapped to a naked back, which looked like fashion’s take on fencing attire.
Wang’s strong all black and white start to her show softened and sheered up about halfway through with gossamer translucent dresses in a lichen print and very apparent underpinnings. Thankfully this was a brief interlude before the designer returned to her tailored, slightly armatured silhouette in shades of olive green and muddy brown.
Also strong were a pair of caveman cool fur dresses. But then, inexplicably Wang once again returned to transparent tulle, a choice that felt misplaced alongside her other more structure designed. But when Wang added columns of sequins running down the body, a bit of a sartorial backbone solidified.
This collection wasn’t an unmitigated success. But when Wang got it right the results were impressive.