Is felt sexy? After taking in Stella McCartney s engaging show, it s clear that, yes, in the right hands, it can be. McCartney, who has made the intersection of seduction and sporty ease her stomping ground, didn t reinvent herself this season, but she did turn out what we ve come to think of as Stella-isms—the sweater dress, the swing coat, the inventive alternatives to fur—in new cozy-chic incarnations.
She looked to her British heritage for her Fall motifs. Heraldic flags decorated long, off-the-shoulder knit dresses and oversize scarves; traditional broderie anglaise graced softly unstructured poet blouses and dressing gowns. If, at a time when tailoring has moved to the fore, McCartney s collection was a little light on the sharp Savile Row suiting that launched her career, well, tailoring s just not where her head is at.
The designer dedicated her show to her family and "to everyone who believes you do not need fur in fashion." While you won t find a lot of those in her front row, they re out there, and McCartney offered some viable stand-ins for this season s omnipresent fur chubby: a pair of oversize washed-mohair sweaters, worn with short chiffon skirts. As for that aforementioned felt, the mottled gray coats, with their big volumes cinched by faux-leather belts, scored points for making something so stiff look so cool.
