new york - women's fall/winter 2008 - day six

VPL
vpl designer victoria bartlett's on going theme has always been about undergarments. bringing things normally unseen, out in the open. it doesn't take a genius to figure this out once her clothes comes into view or the fact that her label is based on an acronym most women avoid like a plague. she has been toying with undergarments peeking out, or at least appear to peek out of her clothes through tromp l'oeil prints or the use of transparency and paneling long before marc jacob's infamous collection last year. sometimes this results into a collection that isn't the easiest to wear, but five years into the game, bartlett is showing maturity all the while retaining the perennial spirit of the house. this season her collection had a more sculptural feel seen in the structured tailoring of her coats and high waisted pleated trousers and still managed to retain their fluid sense of movement. colour blocking sharply cut the body to produce a different sense of space not only in the garment, but within the entire look. to provide a contrast to that, bartlett also showed soft knitted dresses that was so sheer the model's undergarments were exposed. but then again, that's always been the designer's point.



photo: style.com