Lou Dallas designer Raffaella Hanley went to RISD, a fact is included in every single thing ever written about her (the same went for the RISD-educated Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta for the first several years of their careers). That is wonderful! RISD is quite impressive and whatnot. And Hanley is both artist and designer, though divisions between the two increasingly escape me (then again, I'm not that smart).
But I bring up RISD only because the Lou Dallas fall collection had such a great hook: Hanley showed art school girls. Get it? Like naughty schoolgirls with crippling debt from MFAs!
Lou Dallas tends to take a medieval bent, with styling cues taken from somewhere around the late 15th century — she loves corsetry and brocade. I love her work, and this season it seemed more polished, saleable. I loved the puffs of fur on cigarette pants and a patch-worked jacket with a scalloped neckline, the long knit dresses, a floral robe paired with Creamsicle-colored trousers.
But my favorite looks were the art school girls, in mini skirts and thigh high stockings. One look pushed the concept far; the model wore a cable-knit lime green cropped cardigan and skirt set with turquoise trim. Very Cher Horowitz if she was into e-flux. It ruled!
Photos courtesy of Imaxtree
