Yigal Azrouël has evolved into quite a multifaceted designer. But there are still two ways of working with clothes that remain closest to his heart: Azrouël loves looks that hug a woman s body, and he has a keen instinct for conveying a sense of ease. This season he emphasized those themes. There was a close fit, for instance, to much of the tailoring, with bustiers and snug jacquard and double-faced wool dresses emerging at regular intervals. The simplest of these looks were the strongest; the all-gray wool look matching slouchy trousers and a bustier backed in leather quietly made a strong statement. On the other hand, Azrouël s experiments with sculptural embellishment served mainly to disrupt the fluid lines of his tailoring. The designer had more consistent success with his relaxed looks; perhaps the standout piece in this collection was that slouchy trouser, seen in the charcoal gray look and reiterated in double-faced wool, a houndstooth knit, and leather. The trousers were like a dressed-up version of boyfriend denim, and they worked.
Elsewhere, Azrouël played the opposite trick, giving some unexpected slack to a lean suit of freckled navy wool, and un-fussing the bouclé knit jacket by motorcycle-izing it. Other notable pieces included a shearling sweatshirt and a coat-length hand-knit cardigan. Meanwhile, the outerwear was outstanding, with top marks going to Azrouël s natty anorak and parka and his show-opening black coat with zip-off ponyskin sleeves. Zipper details recurred frequently here and made for an effective grace note wherever they appeared. All in all, this was a collection with a nice sense of structure and a fair amount of panache; there were some flubs, but none fatal to the impression that Azrouël was back on terra firma.
