Alexandre Plokhov dropped off the menswear calendar after Fall 13. He didn t stop designing his namesake label, but the time off the runway and the money it saved him allowed him to try something else he d been wanting to do for a while: launch a full-fledged womenswear line.
Plokhov has dubbed his new offering for Fall Lingua Franca. "It was about finding a common language between men s and women s," he said at his studio earlier this week. Androgyny has become a buzzword for the industry lately—see Alessandro Michele s Gucci men s debut, see Jonathan Anderson s entire menswear oeuvre. Plokhov s clothes aren t unisex, he clarified. There s a lot of overlap in terms of fabrics, and the dark, moody vibe that he s specialized in since the days of his early aughts label Cloak crosses gender lines, but in most cases the silhouettes are distinctly boy or girl.
And for a longtime menswear designer, Plokhov has a satisfyingly keen eye for what looks sexy on a woman. Take the shaggy-sleeve, rib-knit dress with the well-placed darts below the bust adding shape to the torso. Or take the low-slung cargo denims with the slouchy rear profile. Those jeans had off-duty model written all over them, but Plokhov has sharp-looking clothes you could wear to work, as well. Blazers came with too-tricky origami detailing at the hem, but a jacket cropped and shrunken like a jean jacket looked edgy and polished in the right proportion, accompanied by a pencil skirt with a soft drape at the waist. His strapless evening dress in humble black wool will likewise resonate with the kind of woman who likes to feel dressed down even when she s dressed up. On the women s side, at least, there s not a lot out there at the moment that looks like what Plokhov does; we expect it will connect with buyers.
