Cédric Charlier did a trunk show tour of the U.S. with Barneys earlier this spring. He s situated himself in the retail sweet spot between high contemporary and low designer, where a workday dress isn t going to cost a girl a week s paycheck. For Resort, the dress that ll have clients whipping out the plastic is a sleeveless, asymmetric wrap style in color-blocked green and cement gray—easy but pulled together.
That s a fitting description for the whole collection, which was big on graphic prints and acid colors, sometimes in zippy combinations, like a turquoise ribbed knit worn with an emerald green crepe pencil skirt, or a hot coral pantsuit paired back to a lemon tee. The prints were influenced by a collection of photographs Jackie Nickerson published under the name "Another Africa." Charlier called them abstracted landscapes, but that s putting the emphasis on abstract; they looked more like the scribbles and doodles of an idle artist. And in that way they were a bit reminiscent of his Spring collection in stores now.
Still, Charlier has his eye on the future. He had his own take on what s shaping up to be the pant of the season, a flowy wide-leg style cropped at mid-calf.
