"Behind every great man is a woman," goes the old adage. Such was the case in Billy Reid s Fall 13 collection. In seasons past, Reid has put his menswear first. "It just needs to be ready earlier for the market," explained the Alabama-based designer backstage before his show. This season, however, Reid made a concerted effort to design for both sexes simultaneously. And the result, he admitted, was that his womenswear ended up having a firm influence on his Fall man s aesthetic. "It made him relax a little bit," said Reid, noting that his goal was to strike a cool, contemporary balance between elegance and rusticity. For the boys, he achieved just that, with an offering inspired by rich variations of wood. (In case one didn t get that from the palette of warm browns, forest greens, aubergines, and deep wines, the point was reinforced with his set, a giant wall of grainy wooden planks.) The collection included smart tweed and plaid trousers; chunky, broken-chevron-print cable knits; and dapper wool overcoats. The dress shirt was eliminated altogether. Instead, dinner jackets—one of which was shown in a woven cashmere—and velvet suits were paired with mock turtlenecks, plaid sports shirts, or striped cashmere cotton tees (their lines were taken from the rings on tree stumps). A bomber made from fermented leather was just the right amount of rugged. Overall, the line presented a breed of polished-casual clothes that, as Reid put it, were "realistic" and even effortless.
However, while Reid s womenswear-inspired menswear was successful, the actual womenswear was less so. In his largest women s offering to date (18 looks, to be exact), Reid turned out three-quarter-length skirts and dresses that—while sometimes nipped with thick leather belts—lacked shape. A Cherokee rose-print shirt-gown, as well as a gown shown in gray plaid, had a seventies feel, and a red crepe wool blazer and skirt combo bordered on marmish. That being said, his black A-line leather skirt will be an urban staple and the bonded cashmere neoprene coats for both him and her boasted a cool, sculpted sophistication that hit the mark.
