To expect particularly challenging styles from Charlotte Ronson s eponymous line seems unreasonable. Ronson makes pretty, feminine clothes that are wearable, and would look right at home on the fields at Coachella, or in a hipper-than-average workplace. No matter the hue, they seem to smack of a generally sunny disposition. So has new ground been broken with her Fall offering? Nope, and that s all right, by and large. Ronson s pieces have earned her a strong fan base (both celebrity and non), a collaboration with Uniqlo, and two diffusion lines with mass-market retailers (Urban Outfitters and JCPenney). Why mess with success?
Taking off on the idea of a dark fairy-tale romance, the CR heroine got to swan about in lots of leather, velvet, and black for Fall. But the two floral prints—one a velvet spattered in poppies, the other a Technicolor rosebush pattern—fell flat, and the former felt even a bit down-market when seen in a skimpy, strappy dress, like some American Idol–ized shorthand for bohemia. The collection s high points were many of the simplest pieces: a soigné black sheath with a sheer neckline and pussycat bow; a fit-and-flare black leather dress with a laser-cut skirt, which moved wonderfully; rich garnet velvet trousers; a black maxi gown with beautiful lace overlay. While surely there are customers out there who would be keen to see Ronson push the aesthetic envelope a tad, all told it was a collection that should serve to continue her career momentum.
