The treacherous Lady Macbeth was Antonio Berardi’s muse for fall, compelling the designer to look to the Scottish Highlands and vigorous outdoor pursuits like climbing and mountaineering for inspiration. Cue a restrained collection with dreamy romance at its core, toughened up by some great outerwear.
Like Shakespeare’s scheming heroine, garments weren’t always what they seemed. What looked like a skirt and top were often dresses, and a tailored jacket and trouser combo was actually a jumpsuit. For instance, the opening look, a navy dress that appeared to be a high-neck sweater tucked into a full and flouncy skirt fitted with outdoorsy drawstrings to add volume, and the lovely cream silk jumpsuit that disguised as a pair of tailored pants and a matching jacket.
Berardi reinterpreted the parka into a luxe cashmere incarnation with a dramatically tall collar and wide belt that had a removable back skirt, and he had vanquished the vacuum-packed silhouetted of old, confidently embracing a more relaxed attitude, seen in the wide-leg pants with their appealing fold-down waistbands.
The collection marched through navy, cobalt, grape, crimson, gold, cream and black, the show closing with a run of romantic silk chiffon gowns in nude and black silk, trimmed with gossamer black lace, that had trails of silk fluttering out from shoulders, down to hems.