Felipe Oliveira Baptista was firing on all cylinders last season, so it wasn t altogether surprising that his new collection elaborated on some of the previous one s themes. There were new iterations of his bonded leathers, and notably, today s show found Baptista furthering his exploration of uniform dressing—numerous mono-colored looks offering a kind of updated suiting proposition. The designer also expanded on last season s emphatic shoulder, constructing a forceful sloped-shoulder silhouette that was a mainstay of the collection and ultimately came off a bit heavy-handed.
The best looks saw Baptista operating with a much lighter touch. He had developed a couple of very cool technical materials—iridescent nylon blends—that were deployed with great grace in spare, mid-calf skirts and dresses that seemed to shimmer down the runway. The effect was very arresting. Baptista also turned out several nice variations on men s suiting, such as a crisp black jumpsuit and a black wrap jacket bisected by a plain gray belt. In both those pieces, the designer struck a good balance with his shoulders: They were still strong but not distractingly aggressive. All in all, this collection wasn t quite as dazzling as Baptista s last, but its highlights, especially two glittering mid-calf dresses, were truly singular and breathtaking.
