Although Daniela Kallmeyer’s eponymous label is known for its cool-to-cool tailoring and sense of casual ease, the designer doesn’t subscribe to the aesthetic principles of quiet luxury. “People have used (the term) as a way of saying that if something is ordinary, or if it looks ordinary or elite, then it will be luxury,” he said during an appointment at his Chinatown showroom. “For me, luxury has always been about personalisation, craft and moments of expertise; And so I really wanted to explore that in this collection.
Kallmeyer mentions looking at the work of Cristóbal Baleniaga, Pierre Cardin and Fortuny for inspiration, which seemed odd at first with their modern and practical approach to dressing, but it all worked out. Her tailored separates were completely transformed by the use of silk taffeta. A cropped jacket with an A-line silhouette and a new version of the brand’s It trouser, the Clemence, with its drawstring waistband and a gorgeously wrapped curved pant leg, referencing a vintage glamor while maintaining a sporty ease, Were standouts.
Before autumn meant summer, so there was also a feeling of walking all over the beach, due to memories of time spent in Positano when she was “18 or 19”. The caftan, scarf top, and pleated layered skirt made of “eight years” fabric, worn with a matching cardigan made of the lightest, brightest yellow silk chiffon, were filled with a devil-may-care sensuality and a simple change of mint liquid. The dress with princess seams in silk was made to put the leggy on display on hot summer days.
Color was another place where Kallmeyer innovated; The palette of persimmon, aquamarine and goldenrod came from a show on ancient Roman and Greek depictions of astronomy that he saw at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In the hands of another less accomplished designer, all these diverse references might have produced a disjointed collection, but it expanded Kallmeyer’s scope – likely bringing in a new clientele both old and young – as well as the brand’s It also doubled down on its DNA (the pattern for the groovy hooded taffeta track jacket came from the brand’s first collection in 2013). “We are minimalist in the sense that it is precise rather than ‘without’,” he said.
