New York Fashion Week Day One

 

“I’m 28 going on 78!’ said Wes Gordon, looking cool in a tailored suit and white shirt as he sent out into New York’s sweaty September heat his collection for summer 2015.

In his comment about age, the designer was referring to a certain grace and restraint which was his refreshing way of stopping the recent flow of fashion vulgarity.

A v-shaped jacket over narrow pants, slim, calf-length dresses, cut in an un-showy way and presented with flat shoes, all suggested a soft take on modernism.

I don’t know if his background in America’s South – he is a son of Atlanta, Georgia – has given Wes a particular spirit, respectful to women.

He might have been inspired by earlier internships with Tom Ford and Oscar de la Renta. He may have learned from studying fashion at Central Saint Martin’s in London to pull out the essence of his southern self.

The result, expressing womanhood oh-so-lightly, was presented in a subtle choice of fabrics –especially lace – and in colour.

Even after a couple of summers of macaroon pastels, his current mixes of blush pink, powder blue and a dash of pale green made for a collection that was womanly – but not too obviously ‘pretty’. Even a flash of silver, say, at the shoulders of a sweater, was subtle.

The programme notes listed fine fabrics. They made the Wes Gordon look classy and never brassy.