Peter Som: Opposites attract at New York Fashion Week
A model walks the runway at the Peter Som Fall 2012 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Milk Studios in Manhattan. (Feb. 10, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Katharine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich were Peter Som’s muses for fall 2012, and to conjure those strong, sultry images, Som revisited his earlier work and focused on crisp architectural lines.
To some extent, this meant the melding of masculine and feminine, hard and soft, textured and smooth, and while there were plenty of menswear references, the collection still read chic and ladylike.
Som stuck to a classic fall color palette -- camel, ivory, black with jewel tones, including bottle green and burgundy. Jodhpurs exemplified the his-and-hers mentality with satin accents. Likewise the wingtip collared tuxedo shirts in silk, and structured, zipped bomber jackets with peplums. Striking sheer nylon panels were sometimes topped by apronlike overlays in sturdy wool. Som worked magic with some of these pieces, turning the nylon into ruffles that looked pretty and industrial at once.
Gals who wear Som like a little drama, and not to worry, it was evident. A seemingly innocuous sleek top-and-pant ensemble in claret had a liquid sheen, and a kooky, giant patchwork fox coat was not for the wallflower.
Did we miss Som’s signature feathers in this show? Not a bit, and he didn’t lose his sense of humor, either, with -- hello! -- a kitty camo print.
