For a few years now, Daniella Kallmeyer’s namesake label has been the go-to for the cool New York City (and beyond) women for whom wearing a suit is simply a way of life. Walking into her fall presentation at La Mercerie it was easy to see why. The models stood tableau-style in the middle of the restaurant, but all around them, tables were full of Kallmeyer’s friends and fans looking ineffably cool, sporting their own pieces. The 37-year old designer began her business 12 years ago after stints at Alexander McQueen, McQ, and Luca Luca; but four years ago, she opened a brick and mortar store in the Lower East Side. “I almost feel like the brand was reborn when we opened the retail store,” she said. “We were so inspired by the different types of women who came through the door and we were able to almost rebuild the DNA of the label and expand from there.”
Because Kallmeyer designs for concrete women rather than a fantasy idea, there are no lofty inspirations to be found. “My inspiration is my customers,” she said. (She described the “Kallmeyer woman” as “an intellectual. Discerning. When she enters a room she doesn’t announce herself, she introduces herself. Friendly,” and it gave the impression that she was describing both herself and specific women in her life.) But she admitted to looking at images of vintage skiing photos from the ’60s and ’70s, which more obviously informed some pieces like the chunky ribbed sweaters with intarsia V-patterns on the front, or the stretchy Italian knit fabric that she used to create elegantly draped long sleeve tops and one devastatingly sensual red dress; but nothing that would suddenly seem outdated next year or even five years from now.
Highlights from the collection included a simple jacket with hidden buttons, paired with a matching slouchy pleated drawstring trouser worn low on the hip, and a shirt with matching tie, all in an incredibly soft and lightweight gray flannel; an easy black leather shift dress with buttons down the front shown with the narrowest stirrup trouser; and a black denim jacket with slightly exaggerated curved shoulders and oversized pocket details worn with matching “horseshoe” pants that exuded a kind of masculine energy even with its rounded, soft shapes.
“My training is in tailoring so I’m very into the fact that garments and fabrics can be architecture around the human body; the human body itself as a strong figure as opposed to femininity and the way that it’s been pigeonholed as fragility,” said Kallmeyer. “How can you build a garment around a muscular body? How can you make garments that make someone stand taller or gesture differently or walk differently?” This feeling was expertly communicated through a particular jacket that this reviewer is still thinking about a day later. It had structured shoulders, and a triangle-shaped cutaway hem because —and here Kallmeyer demonstrated— she thinks it looks cool when you sort of stand there and you pull your jacket back to put a hand in your pocket (also known as swagger). “That’s why there are no pockets on the jacket,” she added. What’s cooler than that?
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