Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Fashion Week: 'The Secret Garden' Laurel Dewitt S/S 2016

Sometimes you can find yourself running from show to show during fashion week and feel as if you are seeing the same collections. Attending the Laurel Dewitt SS16 runway show was anything but ordinary, making it a breathe of fresh air. Using her masterful skills of weaving untraditional materials such as metal to create wearable art.

More about the collection:
For Spring/Summer 2016, Laurel DeWitt pushes open a door in her ever-evolving craft, revealing a lush, romantic fantasy world brimming with the promise of new life and the possibility of a world beyond. Ms. DeWitt’s current collection débuts not only a deeply hued array of elegant separates -- introducing shagreen, leather, and fabric lacing to her already complex repertoire -- but also doses the collection with metal flowers, entirely hand-cut, hand-rolled, and hand-painted to create a stunning display of incredible appliqué work rivaled by few in its detail and labor.

Spring/Summer pioneers two new accessory categories for the designer: Eyewear and Millinery, where meticulous metal work on a smaller scale is of remark. In her world, dimension is best when juxtaposed, and Ms. DeWitt conflates these tiny techniques against the generous, tulip-like curves of a ball gown’s skirting, or the wide, precise swoop of a structured cape, evocative of the scaled breadth of a butterfly. Also of note are the wasp waists and draped contours of the late 1940s New Look, reflected in the slim bodices and grand red carpet gowns, which, though made of metal, reminisce a fluttery, petaled lightness.

Runway images by Bridget Haggerty/Around Digital Media