It’s nice when a hard-to-pull-off idea works. This season, Marissa Webb added a double bustle to her cinched-waist military jacket—an unexpected, potentially intimidating frill that could have been a disaster if the proportions were off. However, they weren’t, and Resort was elevated because she took that risk.
Webb might not always play it safe, but an obsession with consistency means that she likes to fiddle with utilitarian silhouettes time and again. This particular collection was filled with oversize cargo vests—which could be worn boxy or belted—and trench dresses that doubled as coats (done in a pretty lavender cupro, as well as plaid linen). Paper-bag-waist cargo pants were accented with exposed zippers.
The designer loves adding details to the backs of things: a bustle, a silk panel, a stream of free-flowing lace. Flourishes like those don’t necessarily help to sell a dress online or in the pages of a magazine where they are hidden from view. But they do make Webb’s clothes feel special, and show that she’s eager to do more than tick off the requisite commercial boxes.
