Frances Howie’s sophomore Fforme collection was about escaping the city in pursuit of sun, sand, and liberation from the grid. Using the spring lineup as the starting point for her first pre-fall, Howie achieved marvelous effects through expert pattern cutting and thoughtful fabric selection. The result is carefully considered pieces that look effortlessly simple. “It’s not really minimalism, it’s sort of like bringing a bit of femininity back,” noted the designer, whose training includes a stint working with Alber Elbaz at Lanvin.
A top paired with a creased pair of gently swelling pants that gather at the ankle was essentially two squares connected with three seams. A series of looks in what the designer called a “liquid” polyester were made of a single piece of fabric with the back gathers caught by the zipper, which acted like a hand gathering fabric loosely together. “I think comfort is modern and lightness is modern,” said Howie who was thinking about the indoor-outdoor nature of classic American sportswear at the same time that she was looking at the work of noted female designers of the early 20th century. Draped looks that were made in a fabric as light as hosiery nylon evoked Madame Grès while the gentle swell of full skirts over the hips, achieved through gathers or seaming, nodded to the likes of Madeleine Vionnet and Jeanne Lanvin. Countering this most gentle historicism were scuba-inspired looks that clearly revealed the form.