For the resort season, emerging designer Jackson Wiederhoeft returned to his roots, churning out rich, specialty garments following his full-fledged pre-fall ready-to-wear debut.
“We did the first ready-to-wear, and it was a lot of fun but at the end of the day, I realized that while it’s something I want to do, we don’t have the volume to make products at a price-point for customers to buy, especially because of the desire to use high-end fabrics, with production in New York. It ends up being quite expensive, so I realized at the end of the day, that the high-end pieces are a better price value. People come to us for the more embellished, specialty pieces anyway — we’ll get there, but right now we’re focusing on what I enjoy and what we’re good at,” the designer said during the collection preview, gesturing to a fabulously fun, fully embroidered sequin pink column dress with hand-embroidered marabou poodle and interior bustier. The garment was noted to be one of the five he recently presented as a 2022 finalist to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund judges.
For resort, Wiederhoeft homed in on his fantastical elan and pristine craftsmanship to debut a mixture of demi-couture, bridal, specialty ready-to-wear and the debut of menswear (noting production will be a mixture of special order and “mass”). Furthermore, the designer offered a cheeky wink toward the “archetypal, almost stereotypical ideas of a fashion show,” a la his seasonal lookbook and video (complete with a trompe l’oiel runway show with a painted three-dimensional staircase backdrop).
Throughout resort, corsetry continued to play an important role, as seen through tops (myriad bustiers with a variety of specialty skirts, like a low-slung silk moiré elastic-waist boxing skirt), dresses (a show-closing yellow-silver bonded lame gown with draped bustle over a crinoline petticoat) and through corset lacing details. Wiederhoeft’s signature bows and intricate embroideries were prevalent across categories, like a flecked merino wool oversize sleeveless hoodie with long, pink satin ribbons, styled under black denim overalls with hand-embroidered red illustrated devils and demons, or a striking bridal two-piece white cotton-viscose satin tailored suit with fully hand-embroidered silver bullion, crystals and sequins in allover lattice motifs (complete with a hand-rolled cotton-viscose satin rose flogger).
“The looks are characters within the same world, but they do not necessarily inform or regard each other,” collection notes read. But across categories, the collection offered creative fluidity with restraint — chock full of fashions with couture-like, playful details (and accessories) and exceptional tailoring.
