CITYist

It goes without stating, but here at Cityist, we have a fond relationship with clothes. And as elegant as a dimly lit Fashion Week catwalk presentation is, we can’t help but feel a slight instinctual inclination to leap out of our seats and pounce on the nearest model to get up close and personal with our beloved. So when a designer chooses to deconstruct the conventional catwalk for a show that lets you walk right next to clothes, models and even share some PB&J’s, well, the gesture is extremely appreciated. A couple miles downtown from the bustle of the Lincoln Center, behind Drive In Studios’ white garage doors, Rachel Antonoff fabricated a secret garden filled with preppy, quirky patterns and, yes, PB&J.s. Paved in Astro Turf and guarded by an archway of meticulously manicured hedges, the designer’s garden zigzagged to form a maze of greenery. Around every corner it was hard to keep our hands to ourselves -what with the models playing an intriguing game of badminton and the irresistibly fluffy cat lounging in one garden corner and, oh, the clothes. Antonoff’s collection complemented the outdoorsy, yet polished setting. Most tops were crisp and white with intriguing details such as an asymmetrical hem or colorful cursive embroidery. A theme of blue and red stripes of varying widths and orientation occupied dresses, shorts and skirts. The deeper into the maze we went, the more formal the pieces became, transitioning from a gray crewneck sweatshirt that read “I’m With Her” to a white shirt dress embellished with a sort of charcoal pebble mosaic. Our favorite part of the line was the graphic digital pattern of aerial photographs of green spaces with which Antonoff formed collages on several oxfords, dresses and skirts. The earthy photographs were so detailed we just had to get close up.