Nellie Partow described her new fall collection as a continuation of her pre-fall. It makes sense, since in a retail space, the two sit side by side. At that appointment a couple of months ago she’d described “every collection” as being inspired by “levity and freedom,” and the lightness she achieved by working with paper-based textiles was indeed a dominant theme. But whereas that lightness had a slight nylon, tech-y feel, this season it’s grounded in something more natural.
A cream bouclé knit had a short, flattened hand and was knitted on a net kind of base, which likely contributed to its super-lightweight feel. A striped suit in a wool jacquard was as light as cotton poplin, as was its silhouette, which included a longer jacket slightly curved at the waist, and loose, pleated, drop-crotch pants. Look closer, and you’d also see that the jacket fabric is a slightly darker tone—you wouldn’t really notice it at first glance, but it’s another way to inject a kind of humor (levity!) into a straightforward suit.
Elsewhere, coats were tailored with a subtle hourglass shape and decorated with sculptural horn buttons—one also had very unexpected welt pockets on the front. The hourglass silhouette was present throughout as a suggestion of a body without actually showing off the body, more like a protective cocoon. “I feel like there’s two proportions at play here; pulling the waist in and then pulling it away, just like my little one says to me, ‘mama, I need space,’” she laughed.
There were also cashmere and silk blend sweaters so soft and fluffy you’d think it was the first time you felt softness in your life. That’s the thing about Partow’s clothes, on a screen they are minimal and cool, but in real life they’ll transport you.
