The Reviews
Dundas
Peter Dundas tapped Paris Jackson for his pre-fall 2023 look book and she looks smoking hot.
"I met her for the first time in Paris during fashion week and completely fell in love with her and her look and her personality, she was absolutely lovely," Dundas said of his latest muse.
The daughter of pop icon Michael Jackson and Debbie Row takes a sophisticated turn in the images, appearing with slicked back hair and dark red lips, wearing sheer black stockings and heels, her tattoos playing off the collection's streamlined tailoring and lingerie-inspired looks.
"I wanted a palate cleanser for this collection something more pure, more sensual rather than sexual," Dundas said.
In a departure from all the cutouts and lacing details he showed for resort when Heidi Klum appeared in his look book, Dundas focused more on wardrobing for pre-fall, with lots of sensual tailoring, including a standout red velvet trench, bodysuits and lacy sets. ("My clients keep asking for them," he said.)
Eveningwear was boudoir-inspired, with sensual featherweight knit and lace or burnout velvet slips that looked fresh in addition to Dundas' signature slashed minidresses, one in a fun mix of ‘80s pop camouflage prints reminiscent of Keith Haring's squiggles.
The pictures were shot at Grupo Jumex heir and art collector Eugenio Lopez's midcentury Beverly Hills residence.
"It's the most beautiful place and well, this is his bedroom," Dundas said of the sumptuous space with gold carpeting, which was the ideal backdrop for the louche looks.
He brought a relaxed Los Angeles vibe to tailoring, too, showing a pair of airy white hammered satin cargo pants under a white cinched waist blazer, and a black blazer with his brand's side lacing over long shorts.
Although his collection is produced in Europe, Dundas moved to L.A. last year and it has reinforced his design approach, he said.
"When we started the company, we really wanted to create something that was quite seasonless and I think with L.A. you're almost guided into doing seasonless because it gets cold at night and is very warm during the day."
Of course, L.A. has also made his celebrity business explode.
"The red carpet I have a lot of fun doing as well and I wanted to focus a little bit more on that with this collection. Lately I've been concentrating a lot on very short little dresses, but I want to embrace long again a bit more. It felt right and there was also a lot of demand for it."
Next year, the designer will launch his first beauty brand with Anastasia Beverly Hills. Called Dundas Enhancers, it's a genderneutral line that was developed by Dundas' business and life partner Evangelo Bousis.
'It's his brainchild more than mine, because it's something that he's always been interested in from a personal point of view. He's always worn makeup so it's all about making you look naturally good," Dundas explained, noting that the first drop will be foundational, rather than color cosmetics.
Even with talk of a recession looming, the designer isn't ready to say the party is over.
"I've been through recessions before and I definitely don't think my job is to design depressing clothes for depressing times. My job is to make people happy, look great and feel great in what they're wearing. And that for me is going to be more important than ever." — Booth Moore
Badgley Mischka
Mark Badgley and James Mischka have decades of meeting their customer at her big moments throughout her life and for pre-fall they chose to focus on arguably one of a woman's biggest life events: the wedding. “Our girl loves these types of easy dresses in the summer,” Badgley said during a walk-through in their TriBeCa studio. Ideal for any number of outdoor weddings to come this summer, the duo zeroed in offering an elegant assortment of options for all types of wedding, cocktail party under the stars or summer soiree guests.
The starting point was the ‘50s comedy “How to Marry a Millionaire,” which starred the glamorous trinity of Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. “The color palette of the movie and ‘50s fashion shows,” Mischka explained of their inspiration.
The duo worked in mostly solid tones and dialed back the embellishments, with simple elegant dresses in the shapes they are known for, like a green belted 3/4-length-sleeve satin gown with rosette detail on the shoulder and V neckline or a sleeveless yellow sheath dress, hem just below the knee and oversize bow detail at the neck. Neoprene was smartly used on a few pieces, like a strapless mint green column dress with a large rose at the bust. It showed they truly understand the balance of elegance but also how to maximize their client's figure.
Of course there are prints and a few sparkle moments — it is Badgley Mischka, after all. But it only added more miles on a collection that can work for an event in summer, fall and beyond. Case in point: A green hued watercolor-like print tank dress that swept the floor, it wrapped around the waist with hints of fringe dancing about. “That print is a fun destination wedding or dancing dress,” Badgley said. A spot on assessment that can be applied throughout this graceful collection. —Thomas Waller
Maria McManus
For pre-fall, sustainable luxury designer Maria McManus was directly inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's drama “Red Desert,” or “Il Deserto Rosso,” for the film's themes of “human alienation in a rapidly changing, modernizing world,” (issues the designer parallels to today) as well as for the director's saturated splashes of color against neutral backdrops and landscapes.
“It's set in the ‘60s in northern Italy and has a very beautiful industrial landscape — every shot is very neutral in the background but then Monica Vitti would come in in some exceptional outfit and there would be hot flashes of color. There's one scene toward the end where an entire room is in shades of pale pink,” McManus said, which came through the collection in pops of monochromatic peony hues (a signature button-down, sheer crepe skirt or one-shoulder knit tank) amid her neutral-toned, refined assortment.
Known for her ethos of “buy fewer, better-made clothes and wear them often,” the designer provided a strong assortment of practical, fashionable wardrobing. McManus' updated uniform dressing came in the form of GOTS-certified organic hightwist cotton carpenter pants with matching button-ups (as well as new chambray sets) while her plush proprietary recycled cashmere and organic cotton blend knits were given a carry-through-summer vibe in the form of an oversize cardigan, fine gauge dresses and netted layers.
“It's all about the quality and luxury of the garments,” she said of the brand's sustainable practices, production and materials, which could be seen through her season's miniskirt, photographed inside-out to display its details.
“Our trenchcoat is a great example of how all the components come together.
[The bodice lining] is cotton Cupro blend, the sleeve is Cupro, so it's easy to put on, and [the base] is Japanese high-twist organic cotton, that wasn't available to us until six months ago. These particular buttons are made from Urea, which is made from potato starch because most buttons are polyester, which I don't want to use — you have billions floating in our oceans right now.”
Another standout within tailoring came in the form of an updated suit comprised of a white single-breasted blazer with top button closure (said to be made of Corzo nut) with a matching full-length skirt with trouser details.
Markarian
Last season, Markarian designer Alexandra O'Neill debuted a spring collection chock full of festive dresses that subtly nodded to Renaissance Old Masters after traveling to Italy for summer holiday.
For pre-fall, O'Neill continued to tap into the destination, citing the early '60s and Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" as inspirations.
“This dress is the biggest nod to the Anita Ekberg moment in the Trevi Fountain with its exaggerated, beautiful silhouette and proportions,” she said of the collection's singular little black silk faille dress with crystal trim. Aside from a “psychedelic woodgrain” multicolored hand-sequinembroidered cocktail shaker and delicate lily of the valley hand-beaded embroideries, the collection was purposely restrained when it came to embellishments.
“We're shipping in June so it makes sense to have pieces that people can wear in the moment. I think embellishments kind of lend themselves more towards the wintery months,” O'Neill explained.
Instead, she offered a tight edit of casual daywear (i.e., a debut jersey mesh dress, or a girly bow-front gingham jacket and ruffle-hemmed pant) alongside flirty frocks with varying micro-ruffles, puff sleeves and floral motifs (like a textured ivory dress with tonal daisies). O'Neill also reinvigorated her signature corseted numbers with longer, clean silhouettes, like an updated metallic floral brocade bustier dress, which retained its “snatched in” effect without the use of fitted waist seams.
“It's beautiful and dressed up, but easy to wear. You don't want to feel you're fidgeting or fussing around as you're out at night, so we try to provide clothes to do that,” she said of her romantic, unfussy lineup.