Tues. 09/15/2015.
Minimalism, It's a word fraught with connotations of austerity and to put it quite bluntly, boredom, and in the less masterful hands of an amateur, it can come off as exactly that and worse, dull. Maria Cornejo is no such amateur. Her Spring 2016 collection was a far reaching example of how to do minimal, right, and not to come across as either boring or anesthetized to the point of anodyne. Her major play, firstly, was to limit the color palette to simple, almost brushstroke like blocks of neutral colours, Black, White, Navy, Grey and a toasty Beige, then for a small "Wow" moment. literal brushstrokes in an oversized colourful motif that was used judiciously and added just that right amount of curveball to the otherwise restrained offerings.
Secondly, Cornejo also kept any trickiness and overtly "Fashion-y" ideas at bay, not to say the collection was plain, indeed it was anything but, however, it was wearable and approachable, even if it had a more arty bent to it. With a more pared back colour aesthetic on display, it was a move that highlighted just how imaginative a collection this was without a lot of extrovert bells and whistles to catch the eye. Standouts included a stunning White duster backed in Navy over a fluid and limpid Navy ensemble at look No. 3, whilst a deceptively simple Snow White jumpsuit was artistically draped and innovatively constructed at look No. 14.
Cornejo is always best when doing her own thing, and this season she swept new life into the atelier and studio by having fresh blood infused with an all new studio team, it showed. There was a freshness and a newly calibrated sense of excitement and discovery to this collection, which while it also adhered to Cornejo's core principles, it also felt as if she was pushing herself to find new things to interest her and match those up to her fashion ideology. Frankly, it was quite a success.
That's All.
Bye4Now!
