Start spreading the news: Emilia Wickstead just can’t get enough of New York City. After shooting her resort 2024 campaign uptown, downtown and on the Staten Island Ferry, she time-travelled back to the Empire City for a collection inspired by mid-century fashion.
Wickstead, a New Zealand native who worked briefly in New York at the start of her career, looked specifically at women — the socialites, academics, beatniks and jazz clubbers who helped make up the city’s glittering mosaic.
Models grooved down the runway to jazzy tunes, wearing flower-embellished crinkly minidresses with a Sixties feel; leotard tops with long ballerina skirts; and oversized coats edged with fur.
Bookish types paired boyish V-neck sweaters and collared shirts with sparkly, flower-embellished skirts — and sheer black knee-socks. Outfits came in arresting color combinations (an emerging trend this season) such as brown, blue and mustard; or black, bright pink and camel.
Some of the suits and neat tailored dresses were styled with pillbox hats, a nod to Jacqueline Kennedy, while evening designs came doused with a shower of sequins. Long sleeveless or strapless dresses glittered in shades such as acid green, eggplant and black.
While this show had swagger, it was often difficult to see all that Wickstead had to offer.
The venue was in a basement and the dark runway was lit by bright overhead lights, presumably meant to channel those cool clubs and beatnik hangouts. Wickstead would have done better to pull those chic ladies out of the shadows and onto a bigger, brighter stage.
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