Olivier Theyskens has lived in New York for the better part of a year now. He s fully osmosed how cool downtown girls dress here, and, in a preview of his Theyskens Theory collection, he said it was his intention to re-create that on the runway. That s about as unpretentious as backstories get, and the clothes—jackets and denim, mostly, along with a couple of jumpsuits and a handful of drop-waist dresses, all in shades of white, black, gray, and blue—followed suit.
That s not to say he didn t innovate. Just when you thought there were no new jeans styles left to invent, Theyskens big idea was a pair that s high-waisted and slouches off the hips at the same time, thanks to a double waistband. Another fun notion: a tweed jacket with its breast pockets shifted below the armholes. The designer calls them "clutch pockets," because it looks like the wearer is clasping her pocketbook there.
It s the relative ease of this label on the pocketbook that has helped make it a constant sight in the front rows this week. We re sure there are editors out there already planning to place a personal order for Spring s little black jacket with iridescent crystal embroidery. It s straight-up street-style bait. Ditto the cropped leather pants treated with a holographic film. The only bit Theyskens didn t get quite right: the impossibly high patent platform pumps. The combat boots were much truer to real New York life.
