BY CONSTANCE C.R. WHITE
Khaite’s Sales Call
Designer hears the call of the wild
Cate Holstein had a theme and ran with it, sending a collection of money-making pieces down the runway. Holstein focused on pieces that retailers would love. Many items could stand alone in any wardrobe.
Her long military-style coats were classic but she gave them additional flavor when she cast them in sumptuous leather. Despite talk of coats, it was a brash, sexy.collecrion with plenty of skin-baring looks even though its a fall collection.
Seasonality has long gone out the window in women’s closets and it’s less and less relevant to retailers. Holstein was bent on moving forward with seasonless dressing. She showed denim hotpants with bare legs and knee-high boots. Bra tops beckoned from undercoats.
Gigi Hadid opened the collection with a shirt whipped back to show off her naked midriff.
Print shirts like the one worn by Hadid possessed an air of the.baroque about them.
But the real item of the season for Holstein was the animal prints that came roaring down the catwalk.
There were zebra stripes and leopard prints. There were no less than ten animal print pieces in the show. Animal prints are easy. And they sell.
Understood as a classic for generations, animal prints are the ultimate fashion pattern. What do animal prints go best with? Everything.
Holstein showed animal prints in their most classic shades – black and brown.
She then used them in several silhouettes. It doesn’t take much imagination to show the myriad ways in which animal prints can enliven a look. Animal prints are like comfort food or dress by numbers. It’s hard to get it wrong and often in Holstein’s hands it looked right.
Her offerings included zebra-striped sparkly pants with a baroque blouse, an animal print top under a jacket, and a short day-into-evening dress.
While wild prints have been around now for a.couple seasons, they served a dual.pirpose for the designer – giving customers wardrobe continuity and giving retailers something that’s an easy sell.
