It’s that time of year when holiday fantasies take hold, and when the sea and sun call beleaguered workers away from their toil.
Grace Wales Bonner was feeling the mood with a sparkling coed collection full of colorful prints inspired by water, seaport cities, and the tropical flora and fauna designs of the Trinidadian artist and textile designer Althea McNish.
There were stripes galore, including nautical blue and cream for a chunky high-neck sweater, and shades of moss or chive green for T-shirts and polos. A lineup of oversize, breezy cotton shirts came with tone-on-tone stripes.
Silver sequin embroidery and embellishment added a watery sparkle to everything from Adidas sneakers, mary janes and slippers to the abstract sea creature designs on a fluttery sleeveless top and matching skirt.
White fishnet tops worn over printed dresses, or under sharp black tuxedo jackets, added more nautical splash to this collection, which is now 50 percent womenswear, according to the designer.
Wales Bonner dives deeply into her research and this season worked closely with the McNish Trust, and the artist’s family.
She took a close look at McNish’s colorful, everyday wardrobe and worked hard to scale and adapt the artist’s prints for the collection. The result? A yellow and artichoke green sunflower pattern blossoming across a low-slung skirt and boxy top, and vibrant, violet-toned poppies sprouting on blazer.
More prints spilled onto windbreakers and low-slung skirts, and their saturated colors seeped into other parts of the collection, too. A lineup of sporty separates came in burgundy, while a kilt-like skirt and tiny swim trunks were tinged a dark tomato red.
There were more formal pieces here, too, including an elegant brown satin overcoat and jackets and trousers made by the London tailor Anderson & Sheppard, a longtime collaborator of Wales Bonner.
The tailored pieces looked terrific paired with the print. The tuxedo trousers, cummerbund and black hoodie top with a white brushstroke print will be ideal for warm weather, red carpet moments.
There was a lot of detail and color nuance in this collection, and it could have used a more intimate venue. The ground floor hall at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, with its soaring nave and lovely geometric tiled floors was just too big, and these sensual clothes were too far away from guests.
Just like working folk this time of year, those clothes need to gather closer together outdoors preferably over cocktails at sundown, on the lush grass, or overlooking the sea.