There were opposing forces at work in Cédric Charlier s pre-fall presentation today. On one side: his attraction to Flemish painters like Vermeer and van der Weyden, and on the other: his preference for modern, ergonomic shapes. The push-pull produced a compelling lineup for the Belgian newcomer. Charlier s clothes have an edge, but they re not intimidating. At one point during our preview, he said, "I don t want to have a black collection; color is really important." Spoken like a man who understands retailers, and a designer who happens to have a brilliant color sense—witness the outfit comprised of a pink Perfecto jacket, an acid yellow top, red stovepipe pants, and metallic gold pumps.
Color, to be sure, has saturated the market at all price levels. It wasn t the only selling point of Charlier s new output. His shearlings looked good, especially the pink jacket with contrasting black leather sleeves. He has a knack for knitwear, as a bubbly knit forest green sweater worn with an asymmetric hem pencil skirt proved. And he knows how to cut a body-con dress, even if the torso cutouts on his gowns felt a little predictable. As for those Flemish painters, Charlier owes them one. The abstract flower brocade they inspired turned out to be this collection s highlight, whipped up as it was into a fitted, long-sleeve minidress.
