Some brands just don’t change all that much from season to season. Whereas some designers roll out a new collection with an accompanying, florid story about being inspired by a trip to St. Tropez or something of the sort, others just build and tweak their codes. 6397 falls into the latter category. But while showing her spring 2024 collection, creative director Stella Ishii endeavored to explain the themes that come up in her work again and again, which act as perennial inspirations. She always brings forth masculine tailoring, unexpected layering, subtle shine, and pajama dressing, among others. But none of those define her label quite as well as a remark she made while going through the spring 2024 offering: “There’s always an offness to the collection.”
She said it in the context of a pair of silver coated blue jeans, the most eye-catching piece in the collection. “This is something that we’ve always wanted to put in, but you have to do it right, otherwise it looks ridiculous,” Ishii said, adding that 6397 designer Lizzie Owens was really able to help her bring the idea to fruition. The offness in this particular pair of pants is in the blue peeking through, which takes them out of Tin Man territory.
Often, 6397 will pair a particular silhouette or pattern with the “wrong” fabric: camo in linen, terry cloth twinsets, a five-pocket knee-length skirt in a silky gray fabric, silver coated denim. While both the fabrics and the designs are fairly familiar, the juxtaposition makes it interesting. These things are not what they seem, but they’re still wearable, functional. Still, some garments push the boundaries more than others: where else would you find a calf-length skort?
