Danielle Sherman was ebullient following this evening’s Edun show, flushed after a Wang-like run down the catwalk. “I figured if not now, when?” she said of the sprint, and indeed the designer has hit her stride in more ways than one.
The fall collection blended the multi-cultural, aesthetically evocative world of Morocco with modern (even strict) tailoring and techniques. As befits a company founded on Bono’s desire to create a fair-trade chain of command, the collection was created with the help of local North African artisans. “The idea was to fuse traditional artisanal craft with more non traditional technique,” said the designer.
The particular skill of Sherman, and what makes her a great fit for this brand, is her ability to translate this sustainable, international mission into the type of clean basics that made girls line up to buy her previous efforts, The Row and T by Wang. The collection was filled with simple, appealing separates: sharp coats in leather and wool, loose, cropped pants, and Mod tunics. Plus, the brand’s first shoe, a second-skin boot that creeps up the thigh and attaches with garters.
If you squinted, you might not even realize quite how Moroccan this collection was. “I was in Chefchaouen, where the whole city is blue, every shade of blue you could imagine. Tangiers was once run by seven nations, so it’s infused with so much culture.” That blue came through in vivid leather patches and pants. Black and white brocades were hand-woven by a Moroccan, and belts were made by a Berber family in Tiznit.
Of the mix, Danielle said: “All of the tailoring was inside-out, the constructions were raw, the hems were raw. You saw Moroccan textiles mixed with double-faced traditional menswear fabrics. The merging of cultures, people, and textiles, things that are unexpected, is really something we wanted to bring.”
Catch up with the rest of our fall/winter 15 coverage here.
Credits
Text Rory Satran
Photography Kate Owen