The Fashion Plate Magazine

“It’s what you leave off a dress that makes it smart.” -Nettie Rosenstein

Co-creative directors of Monse Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, also the new co-creative directors of Oscar de la Renta, present their sophomore Spring 2017 collection with a chic take on DIY fashion.

The custom-made design style highlights their interest in and exposure to fabrics and embroidery. Meticulous disassembled and reconstructed looks, of which many are cut on the bias resulting in a beautiful fall, show the mastery and skill of the designers.

“We wanted to approach embroidery in the same way we approach ready-to-wear, which is kind of in a naive way—patching this with that,” Garcia explained. “We tried to keep it as simple and straightforward as possible.”

Poplin, one of the most used fabrics in the show, went on signature shirts pushed off one should. Silk pajama-inspired pieces mixed-up with stripes made a cool, unpretentious statement.

Also of note are the white blouses designed to go from day to evening with low-cut, draped, off-the-shoulder or single-shoulder necklines combined with daywear silhouettes and materials.

“We realized that a blouse is enough for evening,” Garcia said before the show. “And a little embellishment is really all you need.”

Every look has something special—but where they could have gone overboard, Garcia and Kim exhibited restraint.