"Inseparable separates" define Jonathan Simkhai s Pre-Fall collection. Well, they actually are separable, but the idea was to make sure they d look so good together that his girl would want to buy them both. "I love the idea of wearing matching separates to a wedding," said Simkhai, who is acutely aware that Pre-Fall drops in the midst of matrimonial season. (He also chose to lay off of coats, given the warm weather in May, June, and July.) One look, a grayish-blue leather crop top and pencil skirt, achieved what he was after. While the matching ensemble was a subtle statement—formal enough for a not-so-formal wedding—each piece could easily be worn on its own.
That pale blue was really the only color Simkhai worked with: Everything else was black, white, and cream. "I wanted a refresh," he said of the clean palette. In terms of silhouette and fabric, there was a lot of what he s done before: below-the-knee pencil skirts, fitted bra tops, and maybe, most important, sporty netting, which is becoming an important signature. Designers often look to tennis, surfing, and skating for inspiration, but there s something very "basketball" about Simkhai s athletic pieces, which is fun and different.
Standouts included a netted black skirt paired with a matching tee. "It s sexy, but not vulgar," he said. But the sexiest moment might have been the designer s black-and-white ribbed knit skirt and top, which molds the wearer s figure into an hourglass. Really, a Kanye West-styled Kim Kardashian would look great in this stuff. And Simkhai should take that as a major compliment.
