Karen Walker: Easy Chic In The City
Some designers find a natural and immediate home on the runway, while others experiment for a few seasons before hitting their catwalk stride. New Zealand-born womenswear designer, Karen Walker, fits into the latter category. However, after seeing her most recent collection, it was worth the wait. A retro-military inspired aesthetic dominated Walker’s Fall 2013 wares. Every coat looked like a modern update on vintage glam. Her signature eyewear was on point. The olive green and pops of orange were a chic combo, and I left the show wondering when I can land my newest Karen Walker pieces.
Walker’s easy chic attitude was evident in the dresses layered over shirts and pants, as well as in the oversized trenches. Such carefree elegance is certainly a speciality of Walker. Case in point: nearly all of her pieces can be mixed and matched for a wearable, desirable result. And amidst the knits and slouchy suits, there was a new sense of edge to the classically girly Walker. The series of looks in a pale pink, some of which were tweed, were reminiscent of her earlier shows, and while these looks were arguably not quite on par with the rest of the collection, as a whole this was a career changing show for the designer.
Karen Walker’s fall outing had a more polished and less offbeat vibe than in past seasons. There were chic duster coats in black, ivory, olive and poppy red, which dominated her palette. Solid vest , and the olive sweaters worn over a midi dress and a black-and-white printed number had just the right amount of playfulness.