Perhaps a deliberate contrast to the sugary launch of her sweets and accessories emporium CuRious Candy, Cynthia Rowley’s Fall 2014 Ready to Wear collection is a structured, dark venture into a bygone era. The collection opens with a neoprene-like take on the now-ubiquitous skater skirt, but this one is just a little bit stiffer and a little bit flirtier than previous seasons’ versions. Somehow culottes (which threaten to be the newest “Am I really going to consider those?” item, based on Thursday’s runways) come across as current. Peasant blouses and shifts, which just as easily could be overdone Jane Birkin, are clean and structured. The lone miss is an oversized tie-dye dress that didn’t make the leap to 2014 that the rest of the collection managed.
Rowley’s astute business sense shows, with fur touches and recurring rainbows reminiscent of stereotypical Russian ushanka and the five rings appearing the same day the Sochi games open. In Rowley’s ensembles, though, black silks and careful gathering let the bold stripes shine, and over-the-knee boots (hers slouchy, sleek, and in rich cordovan and black) replace ski boots. Even the runway, dark and rustic, with bronze touches, grounds the collection in tough girl.
Images courtesy Style.com
by Alison Santighian