Few and far between are the menswear designers willing and able to transition into the women’s market. In fact it’s a genuinely rare scenario that often builds in reverse, so when ex-Cloak designer Alexandre Plokhov tried his hand at a ladies’ line for Fall 2015, trusting devotees welcomed his evolution with open arms. Now that moody, almost all-black debut is hitting stores, the Eve to Plokhov’s Adam has hit her stride for Spring—foregoing the darkly draped tendency of his first outing in favor of a crisp sensuality, where D-ring cinched belts, snap-buttoned patch pockets, and zipped lapels helped shape his utilitarian vision.
Having tweaked a cropped tailoring silhouette and developed a wrapped, linear form to his apron dresses and boxy tunics, Plokhov accented this collection with a slew of subtly worked-on fabrics—turning to washed leather, patchwork jersey, polka dots, and a shredded stripe jacquard that felt rich in hand against his flat cotton poplins. The latter material was frayed and box-pleated across shirtsleeves and buttoned A-line skirts, both of which appeared in a sunny shade of citrus yellow in his Paris showroom. Though edited out of these images, that optimistic shade joined the black, navy, and sand color lineup to further shake up the masculine tendencies of Plokhov’s oeuvre, rendering his outsider label all the more relevant in a season rife with gender ambiguity.
