Marissa Webb staged her first solo presentation today, but she s no stranger to fashion week. Before she left J.Crew last year, she appeared side by side with Jenna Lyons at the brand s Lincoln Center installations. At her show today you could see the connections between Webb s former life and her new one in her flair for offbeat color combinations, her embrace of casual-cool everyday clothes, and, yes, her penchant for sequins. But there were enough distinctions to see why she might ve wanted to do something with her own name on it. A white Italian cotton-linen pantsuit that she indicated as a favorite pointed up the differences best. No ordinary suit, the jacket was rather more of a tunic with a narrow fit, a deep V-front, and a zip up the back. Probably the best way to put it is that the Webb look is more elevated.
Greeting the 9:30 a.m. crowd, Webb said what defines the collection are its combinations: "High and low, black and white, soft and hard, accessible but also inspiring." Her years of merchandising experience at J.Crew came through in the show s wide-ranging propositions. On the one hand, you saw lots of tough black leather (the best piece being a waistcoat with a side zip closure), and on the other, she had all these silk bow-front blouses. Falling somewhere in between those two poles was another persuasive look, a black and white baseball jersey in crisp poplin, worn with superwide pants in the same fabric, with thick stripes wrapping around the outside of the legs. This was a promising beginning.
