Last night, 3.1 Phillip Lim posted a picture on Instagram that teased a tiny peak at today’s show. The snap was of a dozen-plus patches, semi-letterman-looking, but maybe more Harley Davidson–like. You better believe it was the first thing this writer asked Phillip Lim about backstage. “The collection is loosely inspired by café racer culture, riffing off of motorcycle style,” the designer explained, pointing to a denim jumpsuit sewn all over with those same colorful, custom-made patches, and more––bird face crests, the letters P and L, and graphic chevron-feather motifs. “The character is on a journey, collecting things.” And, it maybe goes without saying, she’s expressing herself through her style. Sono Mama is the name of the collection. It’s a phrase that means “as you are” in Japanese, a state of being that Lim is celebrating this season, specifically, by dressing his girls in an eclectic mix of neo-Bohemian clothes, complete with the many patches of their well-traveled pasts. Outerwear, you bet, is going to be very important for our road-tripping heroine, and there was lots of it. Technical fabrics, like brushed felt bonded to neoprene, gave some coats’ voluminous shapes structure without a lot of weight. Unlined biker jackets were strictly cut with sharp lines and firm hand feels. One parka––a shaggy mix of rabbit, goat, and sheep fur––was what Lim called “the mutt of the pack.” (There has to be one, right?) Direct references were many: the stripy jacquard was a riff on the Turkish kilims that riders strap on the back of their bikes, for example; the stamped neoprene coats were a nod to classic Italian shells; and the bag, new this season, was a tourist satchel that straps on like a guitar and is called the Ryder. The finishing touch: swinging gypsy-chandelier earrings designed exclusively for the collection by Alexis Bittar. Free and easy does it.
