The Spring 2015 collections were shown back in September on rainy New York streets, and they finally landed on the floors at Bergdorf, Saks, and Bloomingdale’s at the very end of February. We took our time with this one, walking the floors twice and watching what the editor stylists were actually pulling for the early look-books before writing about it. The headline: this is a season about restraint, with three or four big-name brands quietly making the case that the maximalism of 2014 is taking a year off. We are leaning into it.
Marc Jacobs Spring 2015 Was the Polka Dot, but the Story Was the Silhouette
The polka-dot moment from Marc Jacobs Spring 2015 has been everywhere since the show, but the more interesting story for the floor is the silhouette underneath it — boxy, knee-skimming, with a low waist and a flat sandal. The fabric weight is heavier than usual for a spring offering, and that feels right for a transitional shopper trying to wear the look in March on the East Coast. The tea-length pleated skirts have been the early bestsellers; the polka-dot oversized coat is the look-book centerpiece, but the real money this season is going to the dresses.
The thing we keep noticing about the brand right now is the casting. The September show debuted Kendall Jenner in a serious fashion-week capacity, and the spring-buy carry-over has been steady — a Marc Jacobs runway exclusive sells faster when the model has 25 million Instagram followers. Whether that lasts as a strategy is the question we will be watching through fall.
Calvin Klein Hits Peak Minimalism Under Francisco Costa
Calvin Klein Collection’s spring 2015 line, the latest from Francisco Costa, is the cleanest we have seen the house in three seasons. The palette is bone, dust, sand, and a controlled black. Knit dresses that skim, slip skirts that hang correctly, the kind of single-button blazer that anchors a whole capsule. The thing that sold us is the underlying cut — the shoulders sit slightly back, the hem is a couple of centimeters higher than expected, and the proportions read as actually new rather than just clean.
This is also the year the brand’s accessories caught up with the clothes. The slim leather sandal and the small structured tote that drop with the spring buy are doing a lot of the editorial heavy lifting. If you are buying one piece from this collection, the slip skirt is the answer; if you are buying two, add the sandal.
Tory Burch Rewrites the Spring Sweater
The Spring 2015 collection from Tory Burch reads like the brand has finally figured out what a Tory Burch dress actually is. The fluid, embroidered shift dresses with suede tassel detailing are the spine of the collection, the prints are bolder than the brand’s resort drops have been recently, and the embellished suede flats are doing the kind of editor pickup that turns a season around. The standout for us is the cotton-eyelet sundress — the cut is forgiving, the embroidery is restrained, and it is the rare sundress that is going to actually look right at a graduation, a beach, and an early-summer dinner.
What is happening here is a tonal shift. The brand has been quietly moving up-market for the last three seasons, and Spring 2015 is the one where the prices, the fabrics, and the styling are finally aligned with where the customer has wanted them all along. Watch for what happens to the wholesale split through summer.
Athleisure Officially Owns the Other Half of Your Closet
The athleisure conversation has stopped being a 2014 trend and become an actual category. Lululemon is the obvious anchor, but the more interesting brands are the ones treating the sub-$100 yoga legging as a real fashion product. Outdoor Voices went into stockists this spring with a tone that is — rare for the category — actually clothing-first. The Doing Things compression leggings have been showing up under tunics and oversized button-downs in the editor street-style coverage, and we have been wearing the OV Athena bra under everything from a t-shirt to a column dress.
The bigger move is happening on the prestige end. Net-a-Porter launched its dedicated Net Sport vertical last summer and the buy for spring is bigger and better — Bandier-curated brands, real prestige athleisure (the Stella McCartney for Adidas pieces are still the editor pick), and the kind of styling that makes the case that this is a permanent half of the closet.
What We Are Watching for Fall
Two things are pulling our attention into the fall 2015 buy. The first is what Marc Jacobs does for fall — the brand has been hinting at a tighter, harder-edged collection for September, and the early look-books suggest a deliberate pivot away from the polka-dot softness. The second is whether Céline under Phoebe Philo extends the Resort 2015 quiet luxury into fall — that collection has been the under-the-radar buy of the year and the wholesale numbers have been quietly excellent.
Until then, we are putting the polka-dot Marc Jacobs into rotation for early summer, finding pleated tea-length skirts in colors the runway did not show, and trying to wear at least one piece of athleisure in a way that is genuinely a fashion choice. We will see you in September with the Fall buy in front of us.