Gary Graham s evident love of aesthetic archaeology is nothing if not compelling. Season after season he flouts the modish, instead plumbing libraries or museum archives. Fall s genesis came from Salem s Peabody Essex Museum, where Graham and the composer-performer Meredith Monk recently collaborated on an installation. Their fodder included a throne from Zanzibar and the Indian Vizagapatam chair, both ornate and singular enough to be logical fixations for Graham. Add to those Captain Cook s book of traditional barkcloths and a New England embroidery sampler and you re on the way to partially appreciating the scope of the designer s latest outing.
Here was a Silk Road, East-meets-West mishmash of continents and centuries: a wonderful maxi dress in a tapestry-inspired, chenille-wool jacquard; plummy velvet separates; a cream coat with fraying edges and rich floral embroidery for a touch of modern-day Miss Havisham. All that extravagance was tempered by the spruce, period-inspired tailoring and crisp shirting that are hallmarks of Graham s brand.
Less compelling were a few of the prints, like silks patterned after that aforementioned throne, or the African mask design repeating across organza. The designer s luxe fabrications and unabashed romanticism shone through less there. Graham is not the man you go to for a simple silk button-down. Nope, chances are what you want from him is the Dickensian frock coat or the fox-fur capelet tricked out with big gold zippers—clothes that inspire a cultish following from women who aren t afraid to wear their eccentricities. And on those, he delivered.
