It’s a weakness. Almost an addiction - I’m helpless to resist an item of clothing
made using that simple combination. There is a store in New York (La Garconne) that I am afraid to enter – most of what it
carries is black & white (more about the curatorial principle of that store
another time). I suppose I am lucky almost nothing there is within my reach.
Writing the ‘Wear to Work’ posts I came across a few of
these, most in a price point that can be labeled only as fantastical. This
post, then, is a form of wish fulfillment.
The first two are by Zero+Maria Cornejo. I’ve already mentioned Cornejo. LP – you will be happy to know she’s Chilean
by birth. And her work is amazing. Her style is structural yet with a bit of
slouch, minimalist yet punched up with blasts of vibrant color, edgy yet
somehow kind to women’s bodies. It is as if she thinks of lumps and
insecurities in her design process. The designer I would contrast to her - unfavorably - is Giogrio Armani – who by and large would like to pretend that women are
shaped like tall lanky boys, with no hips or boobs. But then her label her much smaller. Here check it out:
Japanese designers, so often minimalist with color, work with this combo as well. This is from Yohji Yamamoto’s Y’S line:
Narciso Rodriguez, the king of sleek and stunningly simple:
And finally the more high street brand 3.1. Philip Lim:
Now, where is that lottery ticket???
