Anna October attributed some of the clarity of her fall collection to distance. These clothes were created far from her atelier in Kyiv. Sans distractions, the designer said she was able to “explore the deepness and the richness of simple things through details and through the perfect fit.”
As always, her starting point was color—and the lack of it. Like many designers this season, October was first drawn to graphic black. Starting there, she added intense red and blue, as well as some dustier makeup shades. This palette was expressive of October’s wish to deliver “elegance and sophistication rather than something girly and playful” for fall. Exposed shoulders are a trend that has seeped into fall from pre-fall, and October believes she’s developed the perfect LBD in the opening look, an off-the-shoulder number with inner construction to keep the straps in place.
For the most part October’s silhouette this season was unyieldingly pencil straight and thin. She ably demonstrated how this silhouette can be achieved through modular separates by introducing a leather-look satin bomber, abbreviated jackets, and stand-alone corsets; one prettily color-blocked, and another, in white, with a delicate fold at the side. No Anna October collection is complete without lingerie touches; corset hooks and eyes were used here as a detail on the back flap of a taupe coat and a fluffy sweater had garter belts dangling from its hem.
October doesn’t aim to be a designer who outfits a woman from dawn to dusk, but rather for memorable occasions. A rich brown jacquard dress with an elongated torso created by a shaped and slightly dropped waistline had a full skirt ideal for dancing the night away.