Technically, Resort is the sophomore collection for Carven designers Alexis Martial and Adrien Caillaudaud. But because the runway is where the magic—or media impressions—have a greater impact, they can kind of get away with any missteps now, knowing that they have time to fine-tune for Spring ’16.
But here’s the thing: There weren’t many, which says much about their ability to transition Carven seamlessly without spinning the same yarn. Guillaume Henry will always be credited for revitalizing the brand—and for believing that girls would glom onto kidney-shaped cutouts, pastel coats, borderline twee sweatshirts, and a Hieronymus Bosch print. Meanwhile, this duo—whose history dates back to their first day at fashion design school—quickly realized that Carven had been lacking a must-have pant. If their cascading bootlegs preclude cycling to work, they do fit perfectly where it matters most (and length is negotiable, anyway). Leather, too, had never before been a Carven standby. Now there are cinched-waist utility-style jackets, close-cropped variations, and snap-front skirts. The polished discs accenting platform wedges, sensible stilettos, and white sneakers established a discreet signature, while the designers made a single concession to the logo tops of yore with a silver thermo-printed “Carven” across a vintage suburban street.
Collectively, there was something appealingly jolie laide to the looks—the unevenly scalloped hemlines (simultaneously nodding to clovers and clouds), counterintuitive color combinations (highlighter orange and lilac), woven filmy T-shirts and loofah-textured knits. However, there were also a few extremes: the floral organza and cotton openwork that hewed jolie, and the ’70s upholstery-inspired floral that hewed laide. Martial and Caillaudaud repeatedly referred to antithetical notions of “natural and synthetic,” “casual and elegant.” But as tempting as it is to ascribe an opposites-attract theory to their personalities, they insist it’s just not the case. Fine then, the collection is a credit to their compatibility.
