Creatures of the Wind s presentation started bright and early this morning, and the editors and buyers who roused themselves out of bed to see it weren t disappointed. The line s designers, Shane Gabier and Chris Peters, live outside the fashion mainstream, in Chicago, which means they re immune to the group-think that has turned the New York runways into a blizzard of parkas. This despite the fact that a trip to Nantucket got them thinking about sailors wives and what they called the "romanticism of waiting for a husband they don t know for sure is coming back."
The duo s starting point gave the collection a Victorian, time-worn tinge, but it wasn t too literal. Densely knit sweaters had a snug, modern shape, and their tweed skirt was a brilliant aqua, not boring brown. A mohair tartan jacket was eye-catching too, with red beading at the hips that was actually latex extruded through lace. "It s kind of like the Play-Doh Fun Factory," Gabier said of the process. Special, personal details like that are becoming a hallmark of the collection, which is now about three years old. Lace handmade in Calais, France, overlaid a trim charcoal coat; and an otherwise simple plaid button-down came swathed in black tulle. On the other hand, a long-sleeve, floor-length dress was unadorned and lovely. This is a label to watch.
