At Theory, Jeffrey Kalinsky was thinking about uniforms. “Uniforms are an easy way to feel good,” he explained from the top of the runway, where, as usual, he stood while narrating the looks. “This is the story of the uniform through fabric and how everything changes when the fabric changes.” And so as this season’s ’60s pop song blared through the speakers (The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows”), out came the models in their cropped button-downs, slim-fitting dresses, and all manner of suits.
Though Theory’s proposition is pretty straightforward, there were still exciting moments. Chief among them was a group made in a tan basket-weave linen: a sleeveless cropped polo shirt worn with a swooping A-line midi-length skirt that moved with all the elegance of an evening gown (“We call this the ball skirt,” said Kalinsky) and a neat little shift dress. “I didn’t want it to come near the body; I just wanted it to swirl around her,” he explained. The movement of these pieces was irresistible.
Elsewhere, a group of merino wool separates seemed like a fun way to inject a bit of youthful, collegiate energy into a working woman’s wardrobe. Alek Wek looked fantastic in an allover white-sequined oversized T-shirt dress (an allover white-sequined skirt also looked great paired with a crisp white short-sleeve button-down). Kalinsky saved the best for last, with Sasha Pivovarova’s finale look of a cropped button-down worn with cropped pleated trousers and layered underneath a mid-length car coat, all in gleaming silver silk. It added the necessary bit of ’90s minimalism to the proceedings, and it was very chic.
