IDOM. photo: Minh Tran
Portland Fashion Week Day Three was a bit of a jumble: when the only common thread is “sustainability” (more on that later) it can be a little hard to parse five designers’ collections for themes. Nevertheless Michelle DeCourcy, Leanimal, Idom, EmilyKatz, and Stewart+Brown did have a few things in common; this season marks the return of the A-line skirt, be it classic or modern. There was an abundance of looks with interesting detailing and fine lines. There will still plenty of babydoll dresses and the peasant skirt made one brief appearance, but the simple A-line was omnipresent.
One other theme was a seeming confusion over which season was which. Granted, this season’s color story for New York, Milan, and Paris was fairly muted, but Michael Kors used more color than some of tonight’s designers (IDOM’s oranges and Leanimal’s shocking blue, the exception). Many of Portland’s smaller labels have in the past shown a season of clothes at the beginning of that season. Spring shows happen in February or March, Fall ones in September and October. Last night showed that even when designers are showing on the regular fashion calendar, the palette might be more suited to the season before winter, not the season after.
Michelle DeCourcy. photo: Minh Tran
Michelle DeCourcy. photo: Minh Tran
Portland stalwart Michelle DeCourcy opened the evening with a collection of dresses in muted tones, foregoing the floral patterns she has used in the past. This season featured the gowns and dresses DeCourcy is known for, but in the absence of prints she went for outright glitz, using a silver lamé or a cream colored satin with silver threads in many looks. One highlight was a powder blue look with cascading layers of mesh, and we also liked a gray cap-sleeved dress in chiffon with a belt containing its volume.
Leanimal. photo: Minh Tran
Leanimal. photo: Minh Tran
Leanimal came out with a number of pieces which seem to presage the Collections coming today, but she walked a fine line between some detail and too much. The asymmetrical collar ruffles, the lopsided bodices and pleats, sometimes appeared in such profusion as to make it hard to focus on the garment as a whole. One dress in particular had some tucks in the back, an asymmetrical satin detail on the bodice, and another detailed panel right next to it with heavy ruching. More successful were simpler designs with one focus such as a low-slung bibbed dress with detailing along the straps. Measured helpings of asymmetry also went a long way, as with a look combining a high-waisted skirt with simple pleats and a close cut vest with an asymmetrical closure and a severely ruched collar, all in an ivory satin.
IDOM. photo: Minh Tran
IDOM. photo: Minh Tran
Though she opened with a black dress with a very low plunging back, Idom also showed our favorite skirt of the evening, in chartreuse satin. The collection was wide-ranging, showing a pair of dresses with painstaking satin strips worked into the skirts (along with the skirt, our favorite pieces of hers) with an out of place peasant skirt featuring folk-type embroidery, a theme which started and ended with that one look.
Emily Katz. photo: Minh Tran
Emily Katz. photo: Minh Tran
Emily Katz, she of Bonnie Heart Clyde, showed a line of simple modern dresses in jersey and one-sided fleece. Standouts were a wrap keyhole dress in blue which appeared in both the thicker fleece and more fluid jersey versions, as well as a pair of fleece dresses with clean shawl collars.
Emily Katz. photo: Minh Tran
Emily Katz. photo: Minh Tran
She closed the show with a pair of coats: the first, a cerulean blue look with ruffles, pockets, and closed with a large bow, came in a tough-looking fleece which only served to amplify the construction and detailing. The denim version looked like a completely different coat, the same details translated into a swingy, loose, look.
Stewart + Brown. photo: Pete Springer
Stewart + Brown. photo: Minh Tran
Stewart+Brown, hailing from Ventura, CA, showed the largest collection of the evening, and theirs in particular was both well executed and troubling. Troubling, in that there was so much on the runway that no clear narrative emerged. Each of the several groups was internally cohesive, and certain of them shared one or two elements, but following the line from simple jersey dresses to a plaid gingham frontier phase through some elaborate crocheting to sleepwear was a tall order. A gingham wrap dress was particularly good, as was a simple empire-waisted dress with small tucks on the placket, appearing in several colors of jersey. Their palette was one of the most consistent of the evening, with a blue rose graphic recurring in jersey throughout, along with a pink heathered jersey and the aforementioned gingham. One of the highlights of the very broad collection was the final passage of three looks, all Japanese inspired. A simple gray dress was cinched with a bright persimmon print belt, followed by a kimono dress with quilted navy details. Rounding out the group was a navy printed sleeveless top which we could see flying off shelves here in Portland.
Final Word: You couldn’t tell it was green, and that’s great. Though the narratives occasionally got muddled, the simple skirts and empire waist dresses of Day Three were winning, and if a twist here or there went wrong, so what? They mostly got it right.
–Will Levin
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