At thirty-five minutes past the start time of the Creatures of the Wind show, a drill could be heard backstage. What were Anna Wintour’s favorite patchwork kids, the unlikely duo from Chicago, doing back there?
Based on past performance, anything was possible, and they enchanted in their strongest collection yet. At first, the collection looked more restrained — salable — than last season, then the show got quirkier (a yellow and purple brocade dress with holographic detail) and more layered as it went. Models all wore sheer hairnets, fastened just under the chin. Some of the outfits, like a futuristic vest in oversized gingham print, were so bright and proportionally fun they resembled children’s clothes. Other standouts included 50s-style long full skirts (one pink, one adorned with sequin patterns), and tiered, layered jackets worn together. One floor-length dress, stunning in its simplicity, was a moss green sack-back with bows on front — a beauty from another era.
In an often stuffy fashion landscape where designers could stand to take more risks, Creatures of the Wind prove themselves again to be delightful and fresh.