Inevitably, the crisis in retailing has been a subject of this resort season. How could it not be? Many designers are owed money, and if they aren’t they know someone who is. But if designers are uneasy, the thoughtful collections they’re producing don’t show it. I keep hearing versions of what Phillip Lim said during a visit to his Great Jones Street store: “We’re digging into who we are and doing that.”
Lim’s New York brand is turning 20, which makes him a sort of high elder of the high contemporary market, where trend-driven brands seem to come and go with increasing rapidity. Trend cycles now are stupidly fast, as anyone who pays glancing attention to TikTok can tell you, but social media and clothing production operate on different time frames; one can’t keep up with the other. At our appointment, Lim exuded an appealing sense of calm; he’s unbothered by the chase.
With two decades under his belt, he has plenty to dig into. Lim was an early pioneer of the two-in-one dress (an all-in-oner that looks like a sweater over a skirt), and he brought it back here. It’s no longer a novelty, but this season’s update has the same polished but easy feeling that many women are after. Working from the other angle, he gave acid-wash denim an elevated look, cutting it into high-waisted cargos or splicing it with either lightweight tweed or sweatshirting fabric to create clever hybrids. He called the short-sleeved “boy” shirt tucked into belted and pleated trousers a suit alternative; it would make for a perfect office uniform. “I look at the clothes and ask myself, ‘how is it additive to her life?’ he explained.
