It might only be May, but for those of us here in New York, the summer heat is already here. It’s just as well that for this year’s resort collection, Lafayette 148 anticipated baking days and cooler nights. Last season, the brand fêted 30 years and all it means to be a New York woman. But a cosmopolitan woman’s journey doesn’t stop at the edge of Manhattan. She decided to look west—no, not to New Jersey—but to New Mexico, and the wealth of women artists, including Dorothy Brett and Mabel Dodge Luhan, who migrated to its desert landscape. “They basically left the convention of New York City dress and sort of stripped back all their clothes down to necessity, only because they were dressing for the land and for themselves,” said designer Emily Smith. “Isn’t that what minimalism is all about?”
Subtle swaps were made throughout her woman’s wardrobe accordingly. A ranch-ready fringed leather top stood where a boxy leather jacket may have been before. A similar thing can be said for a cinched pleated dress adorned with a paisley bandana print, where solid neutrals may have previously sufficed. The palette warmed, leaning on a rich sedona clay, dusty blues, and the type of burnt orange that blends the setting sun with the sand. However, the collection didn’t concede to the Western lifestyle entirely. There was no Canadian Tuxedo here: Denim was mimicked through a flecked wool. Meanwhile, looser silhouettes used details like leather trim and snap buttons with horn and leather finishes that retained Lafayette 148’s polished feel. Most sophisticated was a speckled tan cowhide jacket. For the jetsetter, it’s a look that would certainly translate in either locale.
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