David Michael has, as a designer, the kind of origin story that fashion PR could only conjure in their wildest imagination: Never formally trained, Michael says his understanding of patternmaking and its relation to how clothes actually hang on the body came to him in a dream. That beginning seems to have lent his clothes a preternatural coolness. Michael knows his way around nice separates, and how to serve up a sophisticated-yet-sexy dress, but the real story here was soft tailoring. There was a covetable louche-ness to these pieces that makes one wonder why the label isn t more widely known, why every cool girl isn t singing its praises from the rooftops. Blazers with a just-so ratio of slouch to structure; rakish smoking jackets; badass bohemian dusters. One pair of wide-legged trousers with a drawstring waist typified the sharp yet unfussy appeal of Michael s clothes. With his focus on perfecting basic pieces, it looks as though he ll stay this winning course. It s sure to find him a lot of fans.
