Jonathan Saunders worries about overintellectualizing his work, but he really shouldn t. His "overintellectualizing" is usually an entertaining trip around his head—the way his Pre-Fall collection for women and his Fall collection for men evolved together, for instance, creating a scene in his mind, like the stimulating little universes his inspirations Ryan McGinley and Michael Clark made with their friends.
And, like their worlds, Saunders scene was polymorphous: beautiful boys and girls belonging together in endless combinations. Maybe that s not precisely what the designer meant when he said, "So much of what I do is about combinations," but that was the takeaway from two collections that shared so much: boyfriend tailoring, oversize knitwear, striping, and checkerboard-ing, the "vandalizing" of precious prints in the name of a graphic spirit that Saunders saw as slightly punk.
He also saw something a little less craft-y and organic than his West Coastal spring collection. "The sharpness is back," he remarked. "There s an acidness." That slightly hallucinatory quality has often been his best friend, but here it maybe wasn t as evident as something else that s sneaking in as a semi-signature: an air of sophisticated vintage, like the blousons and blazers over striped tees and relaxed trousers or pleated skirts. It s so casual that its almost throwaway. At the same time, it s a stiletto-sharp look that oozes seductive tomboy confidence. Saunders knows his girls.
