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| Yeohlee Fall 2015 Collection (Photos: Style.com) |
It’s always a pleasure to take a break from the hubbub of the Lincoln Center tents to arrive at Yeohlee’s intimate garment district atelier. It was an especially welcoming site yesterday in the cold where hot cider was served to those who faithfully attended her show including FIT’s Valerie Steele and Fashion Law Institute founder Susan Scafidi, just to name drop two of the many regulars. Once everyone was situated in the cozy space it was time for the main event: 16 “mathemagical” looks that could only come from the design studio of Yeohlee.
First and perhaps foremost Yeohlee has always been a strong proponent of the Zero-waste design process. Conservation of time, energy and material continues to be a part of her ethos. I love that her twitter handle is #Mathemagical which pretty much sums up her love of smart design, cut and construction. This collection was inspired in part by Sol Lewitt (1928-2007), an American artist known for his cubist designs, conceptual art and minimalism. He preferred to call his artwork “structures” rather than sculptures and was known for his geometrical wall drawings.
Yeohlee interprets his drawings in several looks for Fall 2015 staying true to the graphic origins of his work and employing a palette of black, white and gray in cotton, silk and wool, a cappuccino cupro fabric in a tank dress and blouse as well as a red cotton stripe fabric for the Sol dress and skirt. Plum accents were incorporated in a few looks including a black and plum double-face angora fleece reversible coat and a black and plum double face angora fleece jacket to great effect. Yeohlee reinterprets her own designs and popular silhouettes including the zero waste jacquard jacket which she teams with a matching pant making a casual and wearable suit. She presented three other looks as part of the black and white series; a jacket, pants, skirt and top then used a leftover panel from which the first jacket was cut as a yoke on a jacquard top.
A matte black polyurethane fabric, one of Yeohlee’s favorite fabrics for her fifth season collection has been contrasted with a stenciled cotton material giving it a quilted look as well as providing structure and extra protection. The model demonstrated how the double-breasted buttoned panel conceals a separating zipper increasing its versatility and utility. I particularly liked her Nouveau print silk drape jacket which was shown with a black gabardine triangle skirt and the Nouveau print silk sarong pant which flowed out beautifully with a billowing overskirt (the sarong part) when the model walked. While I don’t see the fabric, especially for the pants as a cold weather option, I could see wearing them with a black tank top for spring or resort attire.
With Fall 2015 Yeohlee’s simple yet smart designs will continue to fascinate those who look to her for her craft in cut and construction.
