Caroline Hu’s fall collection expanded on the idea of personal distance, last season’s puffy shapes solidifying into soft shells against a world that’s not getting any easier.
“Life is harder and harder. There’s war everywhere, the economy’s not very good and I think everyone’s feeling that,” Hu told WWD at her presentation. “But life always needs hope.”
Despite her desire to build up an armor, she doubled down on her brand’s soft and romantic groove.
Among the standouts displayed on living models and static mannequins were a voluminous cocoon coat with a Peter Pan collar, a tiered gown that was puffed up with padding and an off-the-shoulder number that was festooned with ribbons.
It wasn’t as much looking for a silver lining as padding out your bubble for maximum comfort. Epitomizing that glass-half-full stance was a vivid color palette full of bright tones, particularly with Hu’s paintings of exuberant florals turned into prints, and a hint of shine in embellishments and surface treatments.
While her presentation charmed, the ensemble skewed toward couture. Items like painterly knits debuting this season but only shown on her phone and the pretty top with balloon sleeves she was sporting would have deserved a closer look.
Hu said she was still trying to suss out the right balance between high-fantasy and readily commercial pieces as bespoke and ready-to-wear are equally important to her business.
She’s also making in-roads with collaborations. More ruffled Adidas kicks came this season, and she said models based on last season’s custom Samba sneakers would drop in three colorways come May, with a second design coming in October.
