Marina Moscone was after “something softer” for spring. “Probably motherhood helps with that,” added the designer as her parents tended to her adorable infant son. Soft and light as a breath of air were sheer overdresses with charmingly scalloped lettuce edges, the result of their bias construction.
These over sheaths were simple, chic, and sort of genius: Pop one on and you could instantly create a new look. In the lookbook, one of them was layered over a heavy satin dress (available in a luxe pearl gray or caviar) with sleeves that become a capelet at the back. Moscone applied her signature twisted looks to the straps on sleeveless frocks.
Foulards inspired the side-tied double-sided polka dot column (red dots on navy lined with red dots) that looked as simple as a scarf wrapped on the body; of course the construction was more complicated than it appeared. Dots were also the basis of a new technique the designer engineered for fall. Starting with polka print laid flat, Moscone and team “joined four points together by embroidery to create a four-point flower; it’s our new version of smocking,” she said.
She applied this variously; in one case a sheer fabric was layered over the smocking and then a bead was added in the center of the flower; in another, a panel of the smocked fabric was suspended on a sheer dress body. Shine satins for evening gave way to more matte fabrics for day, but texture was still in play. The designer embraced imperfection with raw-edged.