Antique chairs shipped in from Austria, a family friend at the grand piano playing Schubert, contemporary art on the walls—Arthur Arbesser s salon-style presentation was quite a production. "My ideal is to tell a bit more of a story," he said. "All of this is dear to me; I just hope someone else is interested in it." As a matter of fact, Arbesser s unique presentation format (last season he was in an old warehouse used by Milan s 70s feminists) and his uncomplicated but clever clothes have caught the attention of some key industry players. He got the call saying he d made the semifinalist round of the second annual LVMH Prize not too long ago.
This season, like last, what made Arbesser s straightforward pieces interesting were the materials. The designer reported that he d reached out to an Austrian textile company by mail to make the loden fabric he wanted because they don t have an e-mail address. A jacket in the stuff was as sturdy as a wool and chenille blend sweater, and the matching skirt was very soft. Arbesser s vegan suede, while noble, wasn t quite as compelling as a leather-like coat in rubberized cotton that he affectionately referred to as "nasty." Elsewhere, a preoccupation with uniforms materialized in both dirndl-shaped skirts and sailor-collar stripes. The most vivid pieces were the ones in a graphic, multicolor print inspired by Vienna s Wiener Werkstätte; but if that proved too lively for the LVMH jurors, there was also a smart metallic pinstripe.
