The Ukrainian National Home, site of a previous Vaquera show, has received a makeover, and so have the trio, who once again showed there. This was the most unashamedly clothes-y of their collections (one hope’s that’s a word), replete with a plethora of suggestions of how to dress for fall. Their oversize blouses, shirts with built in bras, and voluminous pants had a new polish, evidence of long hours in the studio and a lot of thought as to where Vaquera want to go next.
The simple answer would be an opulent apartment overlooking Central Park, or at least according to their press release. Patric DiCaprio, Bryn Taubensee, and Clair Sullivan took fabrics more suited to drapes and well stuffed couches and constructed a whole wardrobe from them. A brown velvet skirt, paired with a striped blouse and oversize bib, looked perfect for patrolling the corridors of a penthouse. Fringed shoulder pads looked like something Napoleon’s mistress might have worn to a party. A brocade bodice had a touch of the 80s, while pink satin fashioned into a pussyboy dress looked weirdly inviting for evening, a glamorous antidote to prairie dresses.
Speaking of which, of course Vaquera gave their own perverse take on the smock — their versions came first with a huge crinoline, then in huge swags of sickly floral fabric. To culminate, they had the last word on the undying trend with a huge mauve checked dress that looked like a gift, replete with the kind of bow you’d buy at CVS for Valentine’s. But huge.
Except, this wasn’t the finale – the dress-as-gift was swiftly followed (very swiftly, as Vaquera’s models frankly charge along the runway by five grey and white looks, which encompassed slightly sensible tailoring and a loose dress inspired by a bedspread. Interiors-inspiration indeed. We can’t wait to see what they have in-store for us up their extravagantly ruffled sleeves.
