Sometimes simple works. Shiatzy Chen’s Autumn 2014 Ready to Wear collection’s strength is in its simplest pieces. Its rainbow palette is so simple that a child can see its grouped colors move through the line. While there are pretty colors throughout, though, the full rainbow effect serves to separate the collection, vice bind it together.
There is, too, a relative leitmotif in Wang Chen Tsai-Hsia’s floral prints. On coats, dresses, and jackets, the blooms connect to with all black looks that, with their multiple textiles, are not stark, but rather rich. Silhouettes, too, vary, with barely a one repeated throughout the 45 looks: wrapped miniskirts, tapered trousers, shifts, belted coats, cropped fur, and even a pleated gown.
A player in the Asian market since its founding in 1978, the collection certainly has the broad offerings to appeal to both its eastern and its western clients. Its separates, like the set of pretty little jackets, will suit women of a certain age as easily as a younger set will pair them with jeans. Perhaps that versatility is the test of the collection’s success.
by Alison Santighian
Images courtesy Shiatzy Chen/Karla Otto