The serenity of Lauren Manoogian’s largely cream-colored fall collection belied any unrest or sense of toil—which was itself a labor-intensive feat. Behind the scenes, Manoogian and Chris Fireoved had been working non-stop on the collection, while simultaneously applying elbow grease to the renovation of their not-yet-open Broome Street boutique, where they shot the lookbook, on real film. This brand does it slow and steady. An example of this was the new quilted double knit that was developed over the course of a year this season. The material, which looks wrinkled from a distance, gets its texture from an alpaca/mohair blend on the outside; Cotton is used for the inside.
“I worked on a lot of stitches that reference quilting or are dimensional. Everything is padded and padded, I just want to be cuddled and soft,” Manoogian said. She used Ottoman stitches to create a ribbing effect, and added sleeve-like ties to lightweight loose garments that were softly draped and allowed for tailoring. Wearing the sleeves wrapped, Fireoved noted, captures the gesture of wrapping the sweater around your shoulders. This garment and its styling also matched the swaddling we’ve seen so far this season. The curves were gently embraced by a hand-knit peplum sweater, stitched to emphasize the waist.
Also new, and quite unexpected, was Manoogian’s use of a grunge-esque plaid; a skirt in the pattern was cleverly cut like shirt tails, giving it an easy Nevermind look. This was a roll-up-the-sleeves moment for the brand and Manoogian, wearing painter’s trousers, decided to create her own ‘abstract’ version. A brushed wool car coat with a silver print that resembled metal appliances or peeling paint was also connected to the store’s construction in the subtlest of ways. Despite the novelty, the collection featured many foundational looks that keep customers coming back for. “We really wanted to show those pieces that made it all possible,” Fireoved said. Success breeds success.
