Mark Fast continued to expand the horizons of his brand at his show today. London s knit-meister sent out a variety of innovative new crochets, and he also introduced more cut-and-sew pieces. Perhaps most notably, however, this season witnessed the designer experimenting with a tone—one that was more bohemian and romantic than we ve seen from him up to now. The mood was most forcibly reflected in Fast s fringed pieces, such as the halterneck knit dress with a skirt of gold fringe so gossamer, it almost read like hair. But the feeling extended to his flared knit skirts, and his sweet crocheted looks, as well. A pretty crocheted dress with tiers of ruffles was likably gamine; the pale, barely there dress a cascading, asymmetric gown that looked fit for a modern-day Jean Harlow.
Elsewhere, it was nice to see Fast trying his hand at non-knit looks. He introduced a print—a lava-esque abstract rendered in blood red and in orange tones—and applied it to tailored dresses and skirts. He faces stiff competition here; there are designers in London who have built their careers around print, and they ve learned how to construct a garment to highlight pattern. Fast hasn t mastered that trick yet, though his most basic effort in this group, a matching miniskirt and crop top, looked decently sharp. Anyway, he s got some work to do in that department.
Of more concern—and at this point, it s a recurring concern—is Fast s seeming disinterest in the fit and wearability of his clothes. The problem isn t universal within his collections, but there were enough red-flag moments here—the shoulder that kept slipping off the first dress; the model hobbling down the runway in her long, skintight, crocheted number; another model who had to carry the train of her gown in her hand—that you really have to wonder whether Fast ever thinks about the real-life women who might wear his clothes. If that s not something on his mind, it should be.
