design: Linea by Jess Beebe. photo: Jaycob Desrosiers
The show of the Linea (Jess Beebe) spring 06 collection at Una this past Friday was a parade of easy, polished summer looks. Beebe showed a number of knee-length or shorter, wide-strapped, silk sun dresses cut slightly away from the body, many with dropped waists, some assymetrical. She showed your boyfriend’s shirt as a dress banded with a black sash as well as a suit consisting of ivory pants and a shrunken vest.
design: Linea by Jess Beebe. photo: Jaycob Desrosiers
Beebe’s sophisticated palette used accents of black against white and cream, grey, a sexy tan/light brown, and shots of color in washed red and royal. Beebe’s delicious evening look was a black silk x-back minidress (again the wide straps) gathered in front and between the straps in back, giving the shift movement and texture. Detail alert: the crossed straps were anchored with hand white handstitching.
And this is the pleasure to be found in Linea– details like four small pleats that give a skirt the right amount of swing, or tiny darts that shape the bodice just so in fabrics like silk, linen and fine cotton. The quality of the construction and the nuances of Beebe’s designs are the equivalent of a Linea look catching your attention by whispering to you rather than hitting you over the head with its cleverness.
design: Linea by Jess Beebe. photo: Jaycob Desrosiers
Other standouts included a colorful cropped vest over a cream peasant blouse, a blue grey halter with gathered bodice and waist that gave great texture to the cotton frock, and a remarkable white eyelet dress…if you must wear eyelet this season, make it Linea’s mandarin collared, sashed and sleeveless version.
design: Sarah Weick. photo: Jaycob Desrosiers
Sarah Weick showed a terrifically mature debut collection, with a great point of view. A nautical theme was hinted at with a couple of sailor fronts (on skirt and shorts), and horizontal stripes reminiscent of French fisherman’s shirts (Jean Paul Gaultier loves them too!). But Weick had the sense not to let inspiration devolve into costume, keeping everything understated and smart. Our favorite look was a swingy–you call it mustard, we’ll call it sunflower–silk noil dress with ivory yoke and sleevelets and mini sash. We also loved her denim and silk tank over denim shorts.
Like Beebe, Weick uses fine fabrics like linen and silk, so that even when she does sporty (tops in grey-blue and white horizontal stripes) or casual the clothes feel refined. At the same time, her use of an unusual fabric like a cotton gauze for her strapless, black-sashed, gathery mini dress, made what might otherwise be frou or fussy, urban cool. And speaking of unusual fabrics, Weick’s witty mustard-colored deer skin(!) sailor-front shorts with oversized buttons were smashing.
Find Linea at Una and Seaplane.
updated Monday May 22 2006 12:01
WHAT TO DO NOW?