The Tamesis
Sarah Pidgeon and Naomi Watts, everyone’s favorite new TV series’s Caroline Bassett Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, love storyWearing an Adam Lippes jacket to the press conference. Lipps is one of New York’s secretive designers, though perhaps not for long. In a growth pattern over the past few years, he has just launched a line of French-made handbags, is working on a line of sunglasses with Selima Salaun of Selima Optique that will debut later this year, and is opening a new store on London’s Mount Street and three more across Japan.
But back to the works of those famous people. Actresses like Watts and Pidgeon have their own selection of top fashion brands, many of which pay A-list actresses to wear their clothes. Rips’ brand was on the rise, but he couldn’t attract stars in this way. If they wear his clothes, it’s because they like the look and, more importantly, the feel of his designs.
In his new fall collection, materials, textures and feel are as important as ever, whether it’s the “tracksuit” in double-faced cashmere knit in red and camel, the glamorous cashmere twill of the funnel-collar jacket and matching trousers, or the thick Scalamandré tiger-print silk in the sculptural coat. Lippes made his love of racing a loose theme this season, making his day-to-day clothes sportier than usual, with some youthful pieces as well. The miniskirts he introduced in early fall were a hit, so they’re back here, paired with windbreakers in vivid cobalt blues and reds. His outerwear offering is strong, from quilted satin downs in icy white to snap-button navy parkas lined in shearling or mink to chunky coyote fur coats. Why the emphasis on fur? Lippes said there’s a demand and the CFDA’s impending ban won’t affect him if he continues to give salon-style speaking engagements outside of his calendar.
His appointment space on Fifth Avenue brings him closer to his clients, and he hears it all: what they like, what they don’t like, what they’re missing. Responding to demand for florals after taking flowers out of the picture last season, he developed a moody heirloom rose print that became even moodier when he printed it on translucent lacquered PVC raincoats. Fittingly, the latest addition to his handbag collection is a vase-shaped bucket bag in tumbled grain leather.
