It was a pleasure watching models sauntering down the runway in Friederich Herman’s latest collection. Part of it was because the clothes really reflected just what women need these days, uncomplicated pieces that are easy to move in. Still, it was largely memorable because Friederich seemed to be intrigue by frumpy clothes.
The high waisted pants that extended all the way to the ribs before peeling down, blouse with bulbous pastel sleeves and bouncy pleated skirt gave the feeling that they were interpreted from the dressing of a dowdy conservative office lady, the uptight kind who frowns with annoyance over any chatter in her sad cubicle.
Here, they were injected with fun jewel-toned colours and plenty of vigour. It’s not hard to see these women taking care of both business and pleasure matters within a day in just one outfit. The standout look was the boxy suit jacket paired with pale yellow skirt with green pleats spilling from the sides.
It was the most polished collection by Friederich to date. It wasn’t overly sexy or serious. Instead, Friederich managed to find that sweet spot between two with a touch of convincing eccentricity.
In contrast, Yosafat Dwi Kurniawan’s show wasn’t a pleasure to watch on many levels. Why nobody bothered to remind Yosafat that those one-shouldered ruffle pieces and sexy dresses with sheer tulle from the waist down strongly resembled Lanvin’s during Alber Elbaz‘s tenure? We may never know.
But that’s not the only thing that troubled the collection. Those black-and-white print of washed-out denim is frankly too generic by now. Yosafat’s intention of dividing the collection from day to eveningwear also felt clumsy. It’s as if they were made for different kind of women.
Plus, the show was marked with fitting problem. Some were too tight, like the blue one-shouldered ruffle dress with thigh-high slit. The poor model was flashing her knickers at the audience. And most of the shoes were a size to big.
Yosafat should have placed more focus at playing with the formal and the informal, like the pink evening blouse that was paired bleached denim pants. Sadly, it felt more like a styling suggestion instead of a solid idea. Clearly, Yosafat is capable of much more.
