On the heels of the Metropolitan Museum of Art s Costume Institute exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass, which included a selection of pieces from Vivienne Tam s archive, one might expect the designer to go all-out with Chinese iconography and embellishments in her new collection. Not so: "I wanted everything to feel really clean," she said during a preview at her Mercer Street store. In contrast to the colorful, densely embroidered Spring 15 dresses hanging nearby, Resort was architectural, minimal, and a little sporty, right down to the flat foam sandals. Crisp shift dresses, khaki culottes, and knife-pleated miniskirts were Tam s idea of takeaway clothes, but she sharpened them up with Chinese lattice cutouts, tiny mandarin collars, and strips of poppy red. Those were the only real nods to China here; besides craving simplicity in her own wardrobe, Tam understands that her customers need variety, too. That being said, we d venture to guess that lots of women who see the Met exhibit will get a sudden urge to try on one of Tam s most decadent, ornately embroidered dresses.
