The journey on Julien David s runway went from the great outdoors of snowy slopes to the great-there s-a-taxi outdoors of city streets. The collection was more overtly thematic than usual, but he mostly managed it with typical cleverness. In the well-worn aprés-ski territory, David turned puffa quilting into tiny circles on a silver party frock, and if you looked closely at the Fair Isle he pieced into anoraks and cut into chic little hooded blousons and skirts, you d see city skylines and Hummers. "Our eyes are so used to seeing those Tyrolean patterns that you don t really see the difference," David explained.
The axis that spun country toward town was a crisp white shirtdress printed with two views—one mountains, the other a cityscape—abstracted as if seen through shutters. (In the urban glare and blare, the Tyrolean motif shrank into shirt collars, and there David s sneakily avant-garde tailoring was what stood out. It came in what he called a "bidirectional" houndstooth, which subtly zigzags from left to right. It s custom-made for him, as most of his fabrics are, in Japan. It s easy to see why David s coats are the thing that sell most at his longtime retailers like the Webster and Colette, and now at new supporters like Browns, Lane Crawford, and tough-to-crack Susan of Burlingame. Coolly elegant street wear is David s strength, and logically his comfort zone. Credit him for leaving it, but knowing when to come home.
