Johnson Hartig’s full circle moment for fall started with the discovery of some watercolor drawings he had made and stashed in a drawer about 20 years ago. It was a kismet moment, as those artworks had been inspired by the French artist Sonia Delaunay, who is having a moment. The subject of a monographic exhibition at the Bard Center last year, she is included in the current Orphism show at the Guggenheim—which Hartig hadn’t been aware of when he landed on this theme. His more expressionist print cut into jackets trimmed with candy-colored marabou sat on a rack next to more literal interpretations done in crystals, and was were also used on a killer pair of boots, a collaboration with Larroudé. (Delaunay’s work also appeared in shades of gray on knit separates.)
Poet Guillaume Apollinaire, who christened the movement, wrote that one of the qualities of Orphic art should be to produce “untroubled aesthetic pleasure”—a statement that could be Libertine’s mission. Hartig, who is very sensitive to the state of the world, still believes in the positive power of creation. “The day after the election, I did a post on Instagram that said, ‘Create more beauty,’” he noted. “Beauty is one of the best forms of resistance. I am creating pieces of joy for people.” For fall he lifted spirits with a yellow and orange ombré print called California Sunset that he oriented vertically on some pieces and horizontally on others. A topper based on a men’s Victorian morning coat deeply embellished with sequins, passementerie and feathers was anything but somber. Not in the lookbook, but on view on a walk-through, was a rose tapestry coat called Lizzie Bennet after the character in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. (Hartig’s latest wallpaper collection for Schumacher was titled Mr. Darcy.)
Returning to the idea of circles, in a Venn diagram of the fashion industry, Libertine would exist on the fringes: it’s based on the West Coast and operates as an independent business—“profitable since day one, and never a dollar of investment,” said Hartig with pride. Although nearing its 25th anniversary, Libertine “still in many ways feels like this undiscovered little brand,” continued the designer. Distinctive and undeniably successful, Hartig marches to his own beat. “I don’t have any pretense that I’m redesigning the wheel with our clothes,” he said, “but we’re creating incredibly beautiful, made in America, really solid clothing.” What’s not to love?
