Reese Cooper RTW Spring 2020
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Four floors above the street, in the office space of New York’s Havas Agency, Reese Cooper presented his fall collection of men’s and women’s wear. The designer has taken a liking to juxtapositions — his last men’s collection was shot runway-style along a highway and the one before that in an office space his team created in a parking lot. So for spring, the young designer (this collection marked Cooper’s second for women’s) created a high school common area set in a city office building.
Cooper’s collection was designed around said “Water’s Edge High School,” a fictional place the designer had dreamed up and streamlined into a single-narrative collection. While his first women’s collection focused mostly on pieces the designer felt at ease with — jeans, Ts, hoodies — his second extended into plenty of new silhouettes, fabrics and prints. “Let’s try getting weird with it,” he said. “I wanted to be outside of my comfort zone.”
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Cooper designed 30 or so patches, the types common on uniforms and jerseys, which he not only fastened to garments — a monochromatic red varsity jacket was covered in them — but also rendered them into a collaged pictorial print, which adorned a silk skirt and heavier trucker jacket. The designer tied his designs together by adding in details that required a second glance. The cream woven pocket of a shirt was actually the same material Cooper used for an oversize bag and a few knitwear tops. These new “fishnet” knits were made out of an innovative cotton and recycled paper yarn and were layered with classic workwear elements in fresh ways — for instance, a cream men’s sweater with architectural print or a standout Army green women’s vest with knit bodice and cargo pockets. While the CVFF nominee’s men’s wear provided great offerings, his women’s wear took a step in a more sartorial direction thanks to innovations that resulted in the kind of straight-up ready-to-wear that consumers crave for their daily wardrobes.
Launch Gallery: Reese Cooper RTW Spring 2020
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